Destiny : Legacy of The Legionless
by Spazoid247
Summary: As guardians, we all know the story. A Titan, by the name of Kabr had led a Fireteam into the Vault of Glass, never to be see again...but what if, Kabr left the world a light...one that could lead other guardians to the source of the vault...and that someone...is a young boy...one that will show the darkness...that it can't extinguish all light.
1. Prologue

"Guardian? No...you may not have that status...but you'll be a great guardian one day.."

It was a sunny day in the tower, decorations were up, every guardian and civilian there were in good moods. I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember when my father and I were walking around, the Speaker even talked to me, it may have been only for a minute, but it was something. But the main event was about to be held, the hero's send off for Kabr and his fire team on their mission to what they call the Vault of Glass. It was all amazing, all being bright lights and all the cool guardians. Yet, something seemed a bit different, like something amazing was going to happen.

"Do you see them setting up the main event Drake?" My dad said to me as we walked into the main courtyard of the tower. I looked up at him, he was a rugged man, his hair constantly a mess, his clothes dirty to no end, yet he had that splash of confidence to him, even though he was a lowly trader among the city, even guardians would respect him when they stopped by. I smile slightly before responding "Yeah, but where's Kabr?" I asked as I looked around. "You are always so fascinated with these famous guardians huh?" My dad asked as he chuckled slightly.

"Yea, is that a problem?" I chuckled back "I just want his autograph." Yea, I was madly fascinated by them, they were just so cool, of course Kabr was one of my favorites though. "Well maybe today is the day you get lucky and get that autograph then." My dad says as we walked. Over by the gunsmith, was all this merchandise, kid sized armor, toy guns, even real engrams that kids can give the cryptarch for better toy guns. My dad then saw me looking, so he then gave me some glimmer and patted me on the back. "Go ahead, have fun" he said before going off on his own. I smiled brightly as I then ran over, the exo there was a very nice person, even told the kids present a small story about a guardian on a far away planet. I looked among the engrams, blue, green, even purple...but what caught my eye was a yellow/orange one in the back of the stack.

When I asked for that one, the exo chuckled and nodded before talking in his slightly raspy voice "Good eye there, you just got an exotic." I smiled as I paid and was handed the engram. I nodded to him before starting to walk to the cryptarch. But on the way, I was greeted by armor that I've only seen on posters and screens "Young man, can you follow me real quick?" A deep voice asks me, "Y-yes sir, mister Kabr"

Did my dad pay him or something to talk to me?! Kabr, the Titan, is asking to speak to me?! I tried to calm myself as he then stopped me. "What's your name young man?" He asked as he looked at me through his helmet. "My name is Drake sir" "It's nice to meet you Drake, do you know why I pulled you out to the hanger to talk?" "No sir, I don't." He nods and turns and walks to the railing, leaning against it as he looks at me again "You, have light in you." When he said this, I was shocked, how could I have light in me? My family isn't known to hold light at all. "B-but how could I? My family doesn't!" I told him, still a bit shocked. He nodded "That's what surprises me, yet another thing, your light, I've only seen that amount of light in one other person, hell I'm related to them." He said like it was a typical conversation. Wait, so he is saying I have an extreme amount of light?! He then looks at the engram, it was giving off a faint glow. "I see you got an engram, nice choice." I smile a bit and nodded "Yea, the exo guy said it was an exotic." He slowly nods "Yes it is, and that glow means it can actually be converted for you, into real gear." My eyes widened, was he telling the truth? He then took a deep breath and walked up to me "Drake, your light could mean that you can become a strong guardian in the future, and I wish to preserve that chance." He then motioned his hand, his ghost, slightly dented and worn, it's white darkened while it's red stripes faded, had slowly formed.

With wide eyes, I watched the ghost as it and Kabr shared a nod between them, before he did something unheard of, he passed his ghost to me. "You two take care of each other...and Drake, become a hero" he said with a voice that indicated he was smiling as he began to walk back. I quickly stopped him "B-but didn't you say that someone else has the same amount of light? Why are you giving me, a random boy that you had just met, your ghost?!" He only chuckled and ruffled my hair "Because, they aren't meant to be a Titan...now...Guardian? No...you may not have that status...but you'll be a great guardian one day.." And with that, I watched my childhood hero walk back down the hall...

It was an overwhelming moment. Yet, I found myself calm. I then followed in his footsteps back out to the courtyard. I approached the awoken man, the cryptarch, and presented him the engram. With a smile, he was ready to take it and reach back for a toy, but I saw his face fill with confusion and curiosity as he took it. He looked between me and the engram before speaking "You have a bright future ahead of you...I'll get you started then." He said as if he was speaking a riddle. He then brought it into his little shack, and with a glow of a bright yellow light, he returned, but not with a toy gun...but with a large helmet. The helmet was silver all around, with a fuzz kind of thing on top, it reminded me of what was in ancient history books. But what made me wonder the most, is that when he handed it to me, I held it in front of me, while it faced me, but the little indent of a line that was centered down the front, started glowing purple. "I'll be glad to see you in the future, Titan" is all he said before going back to business. Carrying the helmet, I found a spot to see the team off, when they were leaving, I swear by it, that Kabr looked right at me and nodded to me alone. Afterwards, I headed back home with my father, who was surprised that I was carrying a very rare helmet home.

It was hard to hear though...later on it was said that the mission failed, and the fire team was lost. I hid the ghost until I was in my room, I wanted to cry, my hero was gone...yet, it was an honor to be the last one, besides his team, that he talked to before leaving. The ghost appeared and spoke to me so I could calm down. "Don't worry, he believed in you, no matter what, that was for certain." I wiped my eyes as I looked back at it "I guess you're right..." It nodded "Maybe one day you can be the one to avenge him...and finish what he started in that vault." I nodded slowly and smiled a bit. Since then...it was my goal, to become a guardian, and not only save the world and protect it...but to avenge my hero and prove he was right to believe in me. Years and years of training...my father and mother cheering me on...as the years past, Kabr seemed to become only a legend few people knew...but I know what happened and who he was...now I stand...years after that fateful day...at the front of the tower, at the railing...with average armor...along with the same helmet I got that day as well...ready to start my days...as a true guardian...


	2. Rise of a Guardian : Chapter 1

"So, your name is Drake?" The blue awoken in Titan armor, known as Commander Zavala, asked me as I stood in the hall of the vanguard with him alone. I nodded slowly to him as he looked me over, "Hmm, human, black hair, green eyes, a Titan." He said as he seemed to type it into his device. "It's quite surprising that you already own a Helm of Saint 14, it's hard to come by it's replicas that are made for it's unique ability." He says as he lays the device on the center table. "How did you come into owning that one?" He points to the helmet that sat on the table next to me, it's glow of purple still bright and strong.

"Well..." I started "I came to the tower when I was young...during a festival for celebrating the send off for a guardian Fireteam...they had engrams that kids could trade in for toys...but mine...an orangish one...was able to be converted...and that's how I got it.." I told him, nervous that possibly not even he remembered Kabr and the fire team. He looked at me for a second before attempting to speak, but was interrupted by another, more electronic, voice. "Does he perhaps mean the legend?" I quickly turn to see an exo's face, Cayde-6, walking in slowly as if he was watching us the whole time. "Cayde, I told you this was a private meeting!" Zavala almost yells angrily at him. "You said it was a Vanguard private meeting, I'm one of the Vanguard, so I can be present." The exo says easily, like finding a loophole in Zavala's words was nothing.

I hear Zavala hold back a groan "Fine, just don't get off topic" I hear him say as he waves off the exo. "First off, it is incredible that you were able to acquire engrams like a guardian when you were younger, second that you were lucky enough to acquire such a rare item..." "...And that you were there the day Kabr disappeared." Cayde interrupts Zavala with that statement. I jump at the mention of my old hero, almost like it struck me like a knife of a vandal. Cayde nods to himself as he joins Zavala at his side, who was showing a look of confusion. I gulp as Zavala spoke again "So you remember him, don't you?" All I did was nod. "Can you please show us your ghost?" Cayde asks as he tilts his head. I nod slowly as I motioned my hand again, my ghost appearing, it's white areas were painted over to make it look new, along with bright red stripes. The two guardians exchanged looks before looking back at me. "Is...that his ghost?" It sounded as if Zavala was unsure if it was possible that Kabr gave his ghost to a child. I only nodded, making the guardians before me have a small conversation to themselves.

"I think they aren't sure about what to think of you" My ghost whispers to me "Yea, I feel like I'm some kind of hybrid in their eyes." The two guardians then look back at me. "Well, obviously you are special, but none the less, you are a guardian, so welcome to the tower, Titan Drake." Zavala says to me as Cayde walks to the center of the table. "Yea, welcome, now, get out there" he then quickly looks up at me "Oh wait, one more thing." I nod "Yes?" I ask as he walks over to me. "Well, there is one thing that I'd say you need to be careful, and it's a Hunter of mine." I tilt my head in confusion. "A Hunter? Why do I need to be careful?" He chuckles "Well, Kabr left behind someone who could..." I then remembered the person Kabr talked about, another person with my level of light. "...And I believe you need to stay away from her, because if his daughter did see you with her father's ghost, she may blame you for his death." I gulp as he slowly returns to the table. Oh great, so I have to be careful even with guardians...but overall...I'm kind of excited...because now I'm a full fledged guardian...my journey will soon begin...and I'm ready.


	3. Fireteam Assemble : Chapter 2

After the two let me out, I looked around the hall as I walked by. Then a calm, yet strong voice yelled out to me, "Guardian!" I almost jump at the voice as I turn to see the Crucible master, Lord Shaxx, waving me over. I nod and make my way to him quickly. "So you are the new guardian among us?" He asks as he turns to grab something, I nod "Yep, that's me, the new guy." He nods and then holds his hand out, a coin like item, the Crucible insignia on both sides, was what he was holding. "Here, when you want to join the Crucible, you'll need this to enter." I smile bright and gently take it from his hand. "Thank you Lord Shaxx." I attempt to bow to him to show respect, but he just waves it off. "Shaxx will be fine guardian, not get moving!" I nod quickly and turn to jog up the stairs.

I quickly make my way up to the courtyard as I start hearing some louder talk from guardians passing by, but one specific thing caught my attention. "Did you hear the Fireteam that is checking on the Vault can't get it open?" A Warlock had said to a Hunter as they passed me. There's a team trying to enter the Vault? Do they mean...dear god...I quickly shake my head to forget it. I sigh and look around to get my mind off it, and as I do, three different ships flew overhead to drop off their guardians. As the three guardians materialize on the ground, I see three Hunters, from the looks of them, they looked to be on a whole other level then any guardian present. They were almost breath taking. I watched from afar as they all took off their helmets, the first Hunter was an Awoken female, seemed to look ordinary, yet a bit mystifying, the second Hunter was an exo female, she looked like she's been through everything imaginable. But finally, the third guardian, the last Hunter, was a female human, she almost seemed to pulse some kind of energy that was hypnotizing to me, I couldn't figure it out at all. But as I watched them talked amongst themselves, my ghost appears and makes me jump back. "Whoa dude! Warn me next time!" I try to keep my yelling low to not draw attention. My ghost actually chuckles "Alright, well anyway, we just got a message from Cayde already." I raise an eyebrow. "What is it?" He clears his throat it seems, then repeats ""I almost forgot to show you what that one guardian looks like, check the image, good luck Guardian- signed Cayde-6." Wait he signed it?" I chuckle a bit as he showed me the image...then I felt my stomach drop as I saw the image. The guardian was that human girl, that hunter I just saw!

My eyes widen as I look over to see the three walking off, I sign a bit in relief, yet I felt I was almost about to pass out. Without nothing else, I motion for my ghost to follow "Let's get our ship..." We then started our way into the hanger. As we entered the large hanger, memories flooded back to me, I walked over to the railing, the very spot that Kabr stood so long ago. "Don't worry...he's watching over us in some kind of way.." My ghost says softly, I nod a bit sad, yet I hid my sadness with a smile. I walk down and up the stairs as I make my way to the shipwright of the tower, Amanda Holiday. As I walked up to her, she smiled to me and stood from what looked like a sparrow she seemed to be working on. "Hello, what can I do ya for?" She says in an upbeat tone. I couldn't help but smile, "I'm the new guardian, I was sent here to collect my ship and sparrow." She nods and looks through her files. "Yep, here you are, your ghost should receive the link to both in a sec." My ghost then moves up in the air as if surprised "Oh, yep, there it is!" I nod and Amanda chuckles. "Good luck Guardian" I nod once again and make my way back to the courtyard, as I enter the courtyard however, I see two guardians, a Hunter and a Warlock, seeming to be having a frustrating conversation.

"Ok, I'm sorry that she left the team, there I said it!" The Hunter says, clearly frustrated. The Warlock shakes his head as he talks in a slightly monotone, and annoyed voice, "She wouldn't have left the team, if you hadn't always hit on her, especially during the mission!" "Well we don't have a third team member on our team now!" "Yes, I know, we'll speak of this problem later..." To me, that sounded like an opportunity to join a Fireteam, so I quickly approached them, the Hunter being the first to notice me. "Oh, here's a Titan..." He says like he's the one that brought me over. The Warlock instantly starts looking me over, then I start speaking, "Hello, I couldn't help overhearing that you need a third Fireteam member." I smile politely to try and hope that they accept me. The Awoken Warlock (luckily not the one from before), seemed to examine my every move, almost like he was examining my worth to the team. The Hunter then chimed in "Well, what can you bring to the team?" The Hunter seemed to be an exo, but it was quite hard to tell with his helmet still on. "Well, I'm a hard worker, I've had training in all aspects of combat, and I can get better as time passes." The Hunter then seemed to contemplate my words, seeming to try and find if I had a loophole. Then out of nowhere, the Warlock said a simple sentence, "You have promise, welcome to the team." The Hunter looks at him in irritation, "What?! We need to conduct a full look into this guy!"

As the two begin to argue, I take the time to go get my package of guns from the gunsmith. As I walk over, it was hard, yet easy to see that it was the same exo man who gave me that exotic engram, many years ago. I slowly walked up to him, and saw a spark (maybe literally) in his expression, "No way, is that you?" He asks in his old raspy voice. I smiled as he rubbed his head "You're that child...uh...I forget how long ago...but didn't you buy an exotic from me?" He asked as he pieced together the past. "Yea, that's me, in the flesh. I'm honored that you remember me." I say politely as I walk up to the counter. He chuckled dryly, "I take it that you are the new guardian then?" I gave him a nod with a chuckle. He nods and reaches behind the counter before standing back up with two weapons, an auto rifle and sniper rifle. "I heard from Zavala that this was a setup that could fit you." He says as he looks over the guns. I nod "Yes, the sniper rifle is good, but it would be better if I could swap between it and a shotgun." I say to him with a casual smile. He nods and gives another dry laugh "I see what you're doing." He says as he reaches back down and pulls out a shotgun, "Will this satisfy you?" I nod and chuckle "Thanks, I owe you one." He grins "Hey, it's on the house, now get out of my shop!" He says with a chuckle. I nod and take the weapons before heading back to the two guardians.

"I guess I see your point there..." The Hunter said, arms crossed. "Excellent, then it's official." The Warlock said as he turned to me "Welcome to our team." I nod with a big smile "Thank you both, I promise not to disappoint." They both nod "Alright, our next mission is...now, so come on newbie." The Hunter says as he pats my back, before they both run to get on their ships. I smile some before going over in the same direction, where my ghost brought me up to my ship. It was a spacious Arcadia class Jumpship, I'll have to try and get a better ship at some point, I think to myself as I quickly direct my ship to where my new team were. "Well...here goes nothing." I say as I followed behind.


	4. The Fallen, House of Devils : Chapter 3

My first mission as a guardian, I was excited above all other feelings, I couldn't wait to be out there in the field. I was following my new teammates, the Awoken Warlock went by the name of Jarvis, while the Hunter called the Warlock Ravish, I find it a bit funny, but I won't tell him that. The Hunter is called by Krytek-4, he seems to me to have many different memories, he claims that they are all his, but some aren't his from nowadays. That's a strange thing to say, but I trust he's right. Soon after reaching our drop zone, over the Divide of the Cosmodrome, we set ourselves on the ground, helmets on, guns at the ready, us three guardians ready to fight. "Alright, our mission is to inspect a strange frequency coming from the wall just beyond here." Jarvis says to the both of us. Me and Krytek both nod, the three of us summoning our sparrows as we push through the area. "Hey Ravish, isn't there supposed to be Fallen around here?" I hear Krytek ask as he looked around us. Jarvis sighs a bit, "Yes...must be why we need to check this out, all the Fallen must all be in the wall then." I gulp and nod, the Fallen, these creatures are what I've mostly been able to study, basics are that there are Dregs, Vandals, Shanks, Servitors, and Captains, Captains tend to have shields, so keep caution with them...I hope that's enough to stay alive.

We boost on our sparrows towards the opening in the wall before getting off. The three of us cautiously walked in, our guns aimed and ready. Walking down the giant fans, I swear I could hear whispering of some kind. Once we entered the first main room...it was empty. "Must be further in..." I hear Krytek say as him and Jarvis walk over to a hallway. I nod slowly as I keep an eye out for any enemy movement, I followed them down the hall with my back to them...but when I turn to help support our forward movement, I saw one, a Vandal leap down from the ceiling, ready to strike my unknowing friends in the back. In almost instinct, I lowered my gun and swung with my fist, striking the Vandal strait into the back of it's head, seeming to kill it instantly. As it's lifeless body fell between them, they took notice and looked at me. "Nice work there Drake..." Krytek says to me as he looked at the body. Then Jarvis loaded his gun quick "We are walking into an ambush..." He said as he looked around, "...There's a bridge up ahead, Drake, I want you on cover fire, me and Kry will charge forward on and off till we push the Fallen out." I nod and switch to my sniper rifle as I followed them closely.

I watched them as they slowly walked across the bridge, as I stood at the railing at our end. Keeping aim on the other end, I saw a pair of eyes that were watching them, with a deep breath, I took aim before pulling the trigger. A Vandal, once it's head had came off, I saw it's body stand straight up as what seemed to be white smoke come out of the top of itself before falling. Once the ambush was ruined, I saw many different Fallen starting to show themselves, Vandals, Dregs, some Shanks, and a Captain leading them. I saw Kry and Jarvis started unloading clips into them as they came out. I started doing the same, killing Fallen left in right with one to two shots. I heard the Captain yell something in their language, my ghost's voice showing up to tell me what it was. "Well...he said that the Devils will claim these trophies! So I say prove him wrong." I chuckle and nod as I fire at the Fallen more. As the Fallen numbers were diminishing, I took notice that the Captain had seemed to have fled...however...I then heard breathing over my shoulder. Turning quick, I saw the Captain standing over me. Without much time to react, he struck me in my chest, sending me over the railing, but before plummeting, I quickly grabbed the railing. The Captain laughed in my face as he reached to pick me up, but with a moments rest, I reached up and struck it in the throat, but not with my fist...but with a grenade I had somehow generated. I heard it choke as I pulled it over the railing, letting it go so it fell to the pit below. In a few moments, I heard a small explosion, I suspected from the grenade I created that was stuck to it.

I pull myself back over the railing and take a couple breaths. Kry and Jarvis ran over to where I was. "Drake?! Are you ok?" I hear Kry say as he looked over the edge. I nod and catch my breath finally, "Yes, I'm fine...I took out that Captain." Jarvis looked at me and nodded. "Nice work...the Fallen have fled from the battle, all we have to do is find that strange frequency now." He said as he looked around. Kry nods and runs around as he tried to find it. I start to walk around on my own, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. I then pull out ghost so he could get a good look around, letting him roam around on his own.

While looking, I hear Ghost make a clicking noise, "I think I found something..." I nod to myself before running over, seeing Ghost floating over a chest, seeming to show the Fallen were trying to open it. I nod and kneel in front of it, "Hmmm, it looks like it's locked shut." I say as I look it over. It clearly wasn't a Fallen chest, not even Hive...but that's another enemy to worry about later. "Strange..." Ghost says as he starts to zap the front of it, quickly causing the chest to start making a clicking noise before it snaps open, causing me jump a bit. As I get back up, ghost looks inside "Oh...that's different..." I raise an eyebrow under my helmet at his reaction to the contents. Once I looked inside, I was just more confused, it seemed to be a shard of some machine. "Wait...that's a piece of Rasputin!" I hear Jarvis say louder than he usually does behind me. "What?! Rasputin?!" I ask as I scramble to my feet, seeing him nod. "It's unmistakable. This mission just got ten times more important. Kry get over here!" He yells for the exo, who leaps down from the rafters above to our side. "Yea I heard." Jarvis nods and looks at him, "You still got the code Cayde gave you?" That seemed to anger Kry a bit, "No! And you know why I can't get another one..." As he spoke, he seemed to get a bit depressed. "Oh right...you still owe him glimmer huh?" Kry only nodded.

As they began to argue, the sound of Fallen ships began to fill the empty sounds around us. "Oh no..." I hear my Ghost say before disappearing. Without hesitating, the three of us began to run back to where we entered the wall, only to be greeted by three Fallen skiffs dropping off some infantry in front of us, but what caught our fear and attention, was a bone chilling roar of Fallen chatter, the unmistakable roar of a Fallen Kell. Seeing the larger Fallen leap off the skiff above was almost terrifying, but Jarvis was quick to react. "Hurry, run!" Is all I hear him say before the thee of us sprint for one of the roofs of a building. It was scary, but we needed to hold off the Fallen until our ships arrived...but little did I know...another team of Guardians was watching us...


	5. Rays of Light : Chapter 4

"Myata..." One of the three female hunters said to another, the three inside a building off to the side of the battle between the three new guardians and the House of Devils. "Yea? What do you need Raylin?" The Exo Hunter asked back as she turned her head to the Human. "Isn't that the Fireteam you helped last week in their mission?" "Yea, So?" "Didn't they beg you to join them? Saying they couldn't do that mission without a strong guardian?" "And didn't that Hunter of theirs hit on you, like a lot?" The Awoken Hunter asked as she interjected. Myata just sighed and looked at them. "First, the mission they brought me on was literally too easy, second, that Exo is just a perv under his nuts and bolts." The Awoken just chuckled. "This coming from the Exo that has it hard for that Cayde-6." Myata just sighs. "Shut it Zula."

Raylin looks back to the firefight with curious eyes. "Back to the topic, what's going on here? Why are these three new guys going against the House of Devils?" Zula walks up between the two others, placing a hand on her hip. "I have no idea, either they are just stupid...or something big is happening..."

...It's a massacre...but I'm not sure who's massacre it's supposed to be. I pondered this as I struck a Vandal down off the rooftop, seeing Kry and Jarvis fire into the crowds below us. I brought out my auto rifle, joining them at their sides, firing my own bullets amongst the Devils.

"Wait! Who's that Titan with them?!" Myata asks in surprise as she watched the new third member. Zula just growls at the question. "Then we all know the three of them are gonna die..." Raylin sighs and looked over at the Awoken. "You know not all Titans are bad right?" Zula sighed. "Ok, sorry, you're father was a good Titan, but after him, this generation of Titans are all meat heads." Myata crosses her arms as she watches the fight. "This Titan looks to at least have common sense." Zula was quickly about to state something against it, but was cut off by a screeching sound. She then turned her attention back to the battle with the other two. "W-wait...is that...?"

"...The Kell!" Kry yells as the beast climbs up the other end of the roof. I saw the two of them turn their attention to the Kell and began to fire all they got. I joined in the fire, but soon realized it was almost futile. Although the bullets did pierce its armor, causing considerable damage, it charged at us like a bull, taking two swings in each direction, seeming to catch both Kry and Jarvis in each swing, knocking the both of them from the roof. In my no end to the pressure, I pulled out my shotgun and fired a few shells into it's head. To my surprise, it seemed to deal massive amounts of damage. Ghost showed me a small moment of it's health, showing it was actually close to death, but...that didn't help me when it tackled me from the roof.

I remember all the air leaving my lungs, then looking up to see the many eyes on the Kell's face.

"Oh, that Titan did put up quite a fight." Raylin says with a sigh. "A fitting death for a meat head." Zula says with a grunt of happiness from being right.

As I saw the beast raise it's hand over me, it sounded like, for a second, that somebody whispered "The sniper, aim it." To me. I didn't question it, but took the advice. I quickly pulled out the sniper, seeing the Kell open it's mouth to yell in victory, then the barrel of my rifle poke into it's mouth.

"Wait...what's that guy doing?" Myata says in confusion, bringing the attention of the other two back to the battle, before being followed by a loud...

...Bang! Bang! I was hesitant to fire a third round, but when I opened my eyes again, I saw a limp and large corpse over me. Those eyes that were once lit orange, now showed no color. After waiting a minute, I tilted my rifle so that body would slide off. Now coming up to stand, I saw that the absence of a leader had thrown the enemy into disarray, causing them to retreat.

"Oh...it looks like that Kell was strong enough to create a Darkness Zone...so those other two can come back on their own now." Raylin states. However, her two friends weren't in the mood of talking of conditions. "Seriously?! That Titan just killed a Kell, and you want to talk about that?!" Myata says frantically. Zula seemed to also be in disarray. "How can a meathead Titan pull off something like that?!" She said in her utter confusion.

After the enemies began to retreat, I saw Kry and Jarvis respawn as the heaviness of the Darkness Zone lifted. "Wait...we're alive?!" Kry says in disbelief. Jarvis' composer seemed to lighten up as he looked up to the sky. "Oh my god...I never thought I'd be overjoyed to see this crap of a sky." As the two began to break down and laugh, I joined in, happy the three of us had made it out of this mission alive.

But once that had come to pass, the sound of a ship had yet again to cut the silence. However, this wasn't a Fallen skiff, but a guardianship. The three of us looked up to see the black and yellow ship fly overhead, before it dove down to above the rooftop we had fought upon. Then, from up above, a lone Warlock walked over into our view, before speaking. "I heard their was a Fallen Kell spotted here, can you point me to where it is?"

"No...that can't be..." Zula spoke in a complaining way. "No it is...why is Luxan here?" Both Raylin and Myata state. The three watched the scene as the legendary Warlock approached the three new guardians on the field.


	6. Breaking The Ice : Chapter 5

The warlock leaped down to the ground before us. I didn't know this guy, but from the way Jarvis was almost twitching, I guess he knew who he was. "I...I can't believe it, Luxan, here, in the flesh!" Jarvis says, clearly in awe. Luxan the Warlock let off a chuckle. "Now now, I'm not giving autographs on the battlefield." He said in a joking manner. "Now, where is this Kell?" "Well...I killed it." I say, quite nervous. That caused the three of them to look at me, all confused. I saw both of my teammates had started to chuckle, however, Luxan kept his quizzical composer. "Did anyone else witness your kill?" I scratch the back of my neck, I guess my teammates didn't see my kill, so I guess no one will...

"We saw the kill!" I hear a female voice yell out over the field. I turn my attention to my right, seeing the three female hunters from before, I silently gulped, remembering Cayde's advice. It seemed the human, the one Cayde warned me about, was the one to call out to us. Their presence alone, well plus their incredible looking armor, made me feel weak as a guardian. I looked at my teammates to see their reactions to the new witnesses, Kry seemed to perk up like a dog, while Jarvis put his hand to the front of his own helmet in disgrace of Kry, at least that seemed to be the case.

"My my. Well Titan you're lucky to have had such veterans as these lovely ladies watching over you. If they can confirm your kill then I'll believe it. Well done." Luxan said in a polite manner. I swear, Luxan is either a ladies man, or an oblivious guy. I saw the Awoken Hunter shake a bit in what seemed to be distaste at what Luxan said. The human Hunter shrugged as if uncertain if the way Luxan described the situation was accurate. "Anyway, the Titan did kill the Kell, however it was a close call." She said in what almost seemed like monotone. Luxan nodded slightly before stepping quite close to me, seeming to be examining me, hopefully not as a specimen. As he did this however, I caught a glimpse of the strangely shaped gun on his back.

"Um, excuse me but what's on your back?" I ask him, trying to turn the attention away. He only let's out a second of a laugh before bringing the weapon into his hands. "Oh you mean this? This is Ice Breaker, made it myself!" He said with pride. I then saw Kry, seeming to come out of his heat, turn to Luxan. "Why did you name that gun Ice Breaker?" Luxan then finished the laugh he had earlier. "Do you see this thing?! It's so weirdly shaped that it's a conversation starter!"

As him and the others hold a small chuckle, I looked over to the girls, trying to figure out why they watched us, however, I got what seemed like a very cold gesture from the Awoken. It seemed that Luxan saw my gaze, turning to the girls himself. "So, who are the lovely ladies that have joined our meeting of guardians?" I watched as each of them seemed to stand up straighter. The Human spoke calmly and I think almost happily. "My name is Raylin." The Exo seemed to talk in a more sarcastic tone, later Kry told me it was more like sass, but honestly it could be either. "I'm Myata." The Awoken talked in a more, um...stubborn, or powerful tone. "Name's Zula."

Then Luxan turned to us, Kry and Jarvis seemed to understand what he was about to say. "My name is Jarvis..." He said in a slightly nervous tone as he tried to grasp his usually calm tone. "I'm Krytek-4." He said as he seemed to pry his attention from, who I'm starting to think it is, Myata. After they introduce themselves, to lighten the mood, I decide to joke around a bit. "Didn't know you two were girls." I chuckle a bit, in which Luxan joined in, along with Raylin, maybe Myata, and I'm not sure about Zula. I do know that my teammates looked at me, both yelling, "Hey!" at me. Luxan then cleared his throat. "Now who are you, Titan?" I nod and stand tall. "My name is Drake sir." Luxan nodded, his posture seemed to change slightly, but maybe it was nothing. That's when Jarvis jumped slightly, stating, "Oh crap! I almost forgot, we got a shard of Rasputin!" I jump a bit as I remember, having my ghost bring the piece back into my hands, I silently take a deep breath, good, they didn't see my ghost.

I did see that the three girls seem to be more interested in what had happened, along with Luxan. "So that's why you three were attacked by almost all of the Devils." Raylin says, seeming to have found an answer for one of her questions. The three of us nod as I handed the piece to Luxan. He looked over the part, seeming to try and map each detail of it into his mind. I saw that the girls were coming over to get a look at the piece, but Luxan had his own ghost take the piece before looking at all of us. "The six of you...come, follow me to the tower." He said, in quite the serious tone, almost opposite of what he was like just a second ago. It almost seemed out of the blue, but as I saw the girls start moving to their ships, followed by my team, I sighed and followed. What in the world is this piece, and where is it gonna take us?


	7. Bounties and Legends : Chapter 6

I didn't know high ranking guardians get their own place in the tower! Luxan actually has a lab in his own part of the tower! But well, this is my reaction, Jarvis' reaction however...well, Kry is carrying him on his back now, if that says anything. Once we had landed in his own hanger, you could instantly see that most of the place is littered in either blueprints, sketches, or prototypes. The girls looked around in awe, along with me and Kry, but Jarvis, he was like some kid in a candy store. He was running around as he looked at everything, almost jumping in joy.

The only thing that got his attention, and all of ours, was Luxan calling us all over to a room in the lab. As we entered, we instantly saw a machine that seemed to be generating arc energy. Arc energy being one of the trifold of elements we guardians use against the forces of darkness, I wouldn't have been surprised if he had a generator for solar and void energy. What did surprise me, was that...he didn't have those other generators. Looking around after that, I saw so many bits and pieces of armor, guns, heck, I think I saw an engine of a ship in the corner of the room. After I pondered on all of this, he drew our attention to a machine that he had placed the Rasputin shard in.

"So, what is this shard? Is it an important part of Rasputin?" I ask, mostly because I wanted to know, but also because Jarvis isn't in a good state to ask for us. Luxan seemed distant from us as he worked with the machine, in which looked to be examining the contents of the shard. As the silence kept ticking away at the time, it wasn't hard to pick up on the awkward vibe between our two teams. I knew Jarvis was, for whatever reason, on cloud nine right now, and I can feel some of the intensity of Kry's poorly hidden gaze at Myata. The girls weren't that different in the awkwardness. Raylin seemed lost in thought, trying to escape the situation. Myata, she was trying to play it cool and ignore Kry's gaze like she was trying to give him the cold shoulder, but I guess she could feel the intensity of the gaze due to her uneasy posture. I can't blame her, I'm feeling awkward about it myself. Now Zula, half of the time, I feel like she is trying to take in as much of the sights of this lab as possible, but every time her gaze reaches me, I feel like I'm back in a darkness zone.

And almost as quickly the awkwardness laid upon us, Luxan stood up straight and turned to us. "Sorry about that, I sometimes get carried away with focus." He said politely. As strange as that excuse was, it seemed we had all shrugged it off and left it at that. Myata, most likely to escape the gaze, stepped forward. "So tell us, what's so important about this shard?" Luxan nodded and reached up to his helmet, pulling it up and off his head, revealing a red headed Caucasian with some circled glasses on his face. "It's simple, it's a component of Rasputin's inner A.I. processor." I think each and every one of us realized what he meant, hell, Jarvis broke out of his cloud nine dream, gasping along with us. "A-are you saying, that this piece is a part of Rasputin, and not just a piece off the outside, but the actual Rasputin himself?!" Raylin says in curiosity and in fear. I could sense everyone feared that it might be that.

Luxan just nodded before gesturing to a door opposite of the one we entered in. "Yea, that's why I called a veteran that has been past Rasputin's defenses many times here. He will be monitoring a mission in which you'll head into the inner chambers and fix Rasputin." Me and my team, I could sense the three of us were now excited, we wanted to show the tower that we are strong, and this mission may be the way we could do so. However, the girls' vibe was different entirely. "Oh, is that who I think it is?" Zula asked as she nudged Myata's shoulder. I tilt my head, confused by why Zula seemed to have a mischievous tone, but I was quickly distracted by the door opening, revealing Cayde-6.

"Hello guardians, I hear you have…." He trails off as his gaze meets me, I saw that gaze of his turn from me to Raylin, and I knew I was in trouble now. He cleared his throat as he walked over to Luxan's side. As he did this, it wasn't hard to notice that Myata was...trembling?! Then Zula walked behind her as Cayde spoke. "I hear you six have obtained Rasputin." Zula chuckled slightly. "Yea, she can tell you all about it." And as she says that, she shoves Myata forward, earning an audible squeak from her. Whether it was from her body or her voice, I think I might never know.

Cayde seemed to smile at her. "Oh, if I'm right, you're Myata right? Can you tell me about what's happening?" However, Myata seemed to be silent, she was trembling more now, and when Cayde said her name, it was like being out of breath for her. "Cayde…..knows my….." And that seemed to be the only thing that left her mouth before audible clicking noises are heard. She soons turns limp and falls on the floor, looking to be turned off. Me and my teammates almost freak out at the action, but Raylin sighs and turns to us. "Don't worry, this happens quite often."

Cayde seemed to be wanting to question it, but he just shook his head. "Alright? Just get her to the medical bay for help." Zula nodded quickly before going to pick her up, quickly carrying her out, almost relieved to leave the room. I saw as they left the room that Kry seemed to drop into a mini depression. Is it even possible that Exos can have depression? Well, I shake off this thought as we all turned back to Cayde. "Anyway, I mostly get what is happening here, so I need a team of three guardians to infiltrate Rasputin and apply the piece you uncovered back into him." He said as he went to grab the piece.

Jarvis stepped forward quickly, still shaking a bit as he had stepped closer to the silent Luxan. "I will join the mission!" He said loudly. It truly seemed he wanted to prove himself. Then I saw Raylin step forward with him. "I will accompany the Warlock." Even though I knew Cayde would most likely say against it, but I couldn't stand by this time, I've been waiting to do this kind of thing for many years. "Cayde, I'll go with them!" I say proudly, walking up to the other two guardians. Cayde, to my surprise, didn't seem to falter, nor got angry. All he did was dawn a smirk of some kind on his face before nodding. "Perfect, you'll get a code to get in once you make it to an entrance. Now move it guardians!" I couldn't help but smile under my helmet at his enthusiasm.

Kry then turned to us with what I believe to be a sly posture. "I'll stay here and try to help with Myata." As he then began to walk out, Jarvis just talked sternly. "Don't do anything stupid Krytek-4, you don't want to be Krytek-5." I heard an audible click from Kry before he left the room. That was kinda cold in my opinion, but he may have deserved it. I turned to follow Jarvis and Raylin out to the hangar before I felt my shoulder being grabbed by a mechanical hand. I hear the door close behind them as I turned to face Cayde, along with Luxan joining him at his side. "You were right Cayde, this Titan is special." Luxan said as if he had come to this conclusion a while ago.

Cayde just chuckled and nodded. "Yep, but he's a troublemaker." I got a little nervous as they talked about me like this. "Um guys, I'm still here." I point out. Cayde nods and let's go of my shoulder. "I told you to be careful around Raylin, yet you seem to have gone against my advice." He says in a somewhat serious tone, totally unlike him. I was about to tell him otherwise before he laughed and patted my back. "Now that's a true guardian, taking risks to push forward! Now follow your team." He said as if he was proud of his son. In my confusion, I turn to leave, but not before I caught something that Luxan said. "He reminds me of my Titan friend….."

Hearing that, I feel like that whomever that Titan was, they must be famous too. However, I couldn't focus on such things now, I leaped up into my ship, firing the engines and quickly following after the team. I feel like something is waiting for us….


	8. The Hidden Swarm : Chapter 7

Once I had caught up to them, they had already set foot on the ground on what was called The Forgotten Shore. I saw Raylin watching the few Fallen in sight off the edge of the cliff, and Jarvis waving me down. I smiled a bit, such a short time after my first mission that I'm already on my second. I quickly get down to them, about to pull out my auto rifle before being notified by my ghost. "Oh, I think I forgot to notify you that you picked up a stronger auto rifle while fighting those Fallen."

I roll my eyes under my helmet and sigh. "Not the best time to complain, just equip it." And without a word from him, the auto rifle I had actually pulled out was green in tint, and I swear I could feel the difference in strength. I then turned back to the two just as Raylin did the same. "First we must find an accessible entrance to Rasputin." She said, her voice fitting that of a leader.

I tilted my head a bit, a veteran of a guardian like her, not knowing of an entrance, but memory struck me. "Oh, Jarvis knows a way."

I saw quite the change in his stance. "Dude!"

Raylin quickly turned to Jarvis, I couldn't tell what emotion it was backed with, but it was something fierce. "And why would such a guardian as yourself know of one?"

I witnessed them beginning to fight, however, something seemed to be quite strange off in the distance, past the two wrecked ships. As I looked over, I could swear to see guardians walking up the hill to one of the buildings. However, as they entered the buildings range, the guardians seemed to disappear from my sight. Strange enough, as I watched them, I could feel my ghost seeming to not be with me, but over there. As I contemplated all of what just happened, I caught back on the argument.

"...Well sorry that me and Kry liked to explore the land at random!" Jarvis said, seeming quite angered.

"Well you need to start communication with the Tower about these "exploration" patrols." Raylin said in quite an angry tone for her.

"Well at least I know where we are going!" Jarvis yelled.

That's when I think I pieced the image together, raising my hand and finger towards the building in the distance. "Jarvis, it's there...isn't it?"

A silence laid upon the two as they looked at me, Raylin seemed to watch me in shock as Jarvis spoke cautiously. "Y-yea, but how did you know?"

Thinking the two may think I'm crazy for my excuse, I decide to ease them a bit. "Just a guess." I chuckle a bit, seeing Jarvis seem to ease a bit, but Raylin, not even a bit.

"Well, let's go." I say with an upbeat tone as I jump off the cliff and summon my sparrow at the same time. I heard this was fun, but it's a lot more fun than I expected. As my sparrow reached the ground, I boosted on towards the building, followed by the audible boosts from my teammates following. We boosted our way past the Fallen in the building as if we were on a scent, and to add a little flare to our entrance, as we were going to turn into the stairwell, I leaped off my sparrow as it was still boosting into a Dreg, unlucky enough to still be in the way, and down the stairs.

Soon enough, the three of us were walking down the rest of the stairs, looking around at the web infested area. It seemed no guardian has been here in so long. But once we entered the final room, I can see why. The whole room was filled with entrances into Rasputin, some turrets even littered the corner of the room. However, I guess these defences are down, since we haven't been shot down yet.

"Well, at least you two weren't wrong about the entrance…." Raylin said, quite uneasy.

Jarvis gave a small nod, seeming to be uneasy as well. Most entrances that surrounded us had looked to be sealed up in one way or another, one was sealed with what I believe was cement, one was covered in rust, and another was surrounded by heavy crates, all except one. This one seemed to be newer and more recently used, it even had a monitor on it's side. The three of us made our way over to it hesitantly before Raylin stood next to the monitor.

"Alright, let's hope this code Cayde sent actually works." She says with distaste as she started typing into the monitor.

"We should be careful inside, we don't know if there was a breach or not." Jarvis says as he loaded his fusion rifle.

I nod slowly as I stood to the front of the entrance. Suddenly our comms turned on all at once, followed by Cayde's voice. "So, you all are inside Rasputin? I think there can be a joke with that."

I gave a small chuckle before answering. "We are at an entrance, we'll be inside in a second."

Cayde gave an audible grunt of reassurance before stating something a bit off to me. "Oh and, how can I get your friend to calm down Raylin? I'm asking because every time I go to check on her, she starts flipping out on us."

Me and Jarvis look at each other in confusion as Raylin sighed. "Just...let her be for now, she'll recover."

"Alright, gotcha. I'll go tell the other two then, good luck!" He says before we each get a click sound, signaling comms are off.

Me and Jarvis nod to one another before looking at Raylin and both of us ask the same thing. "She has something for Cayde, doesn't she?"

Raylin just gives a sigh that was full of exhaustion. "Yes….now let's focus on the mission."

We each nod and turn to the entrance as Raylin presses enter on the monitor, causing the entrance to open. After the doors open, the three of us move into the corridor, making fast pace. Once we slowed down, we had entered a large and open corridor, leaving us on a catwalk of some kind. I caught a glimpse of Raylin and Jarvis looking around in awe, but as I smiled at their postures, I could hear the cracking sound of bones, and the growling sound of monsters. I turned down the catwalk, causing the two of them to look at me. "What is it Drake?" Jarvis asked.

"The Hive….they are here." I say, maybe a bit too ominously. The Hive, thralls, acolytes, knights, wizards, ogres, one of the worst races of darkness in existence. Their hunger for light seems to be unquenchable, causing them to constantly seek out guardians to feast on, or so the legends say. I could tell Jarvis was suddenly uneasy, mostly because I saw him shudder at the mention. Raylin, however, didn't show any sign of being fazed, however, her voice betrayed her. "A-alright, let's get moving!" She said in a tone of forced courage, with a hint of fear.

The both of us nodded as we began to follow her, keeping our guns at the ready. As we moved deeper into the corridor, the growls of the Hive grew louder, until we came upon a room that, once you turn the corner, had a small horde of Thralls that filled it. The three of us were silent, but that didn't matter, for the thralls all turned to us, screeched, then began running at us. Jarvis seemed to immediately run back out of the room, but as I turned to follow, I saw Raylin, who seemed to be frozen in fear.

I had no time to try and snap her out of it, so I did the only thing I could do, I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along as I ran. Now um….i don't exactly remember the corridor...as I pulled her along, I could see images of what had happened to me many years ago. A few years before that day in the tower, I was very childish and such, like every kid. Back then, I had a childhood friend, she was as innocent as me in this world, well, as innocent as you can get. Me and her liked to play with a ball we had got from my dad, and we'd take it to this field that was at the edge of the Traveler's barrier around the city. One day, however, was one of terror, where me and her went to play, but after a while of us playing, the barrier had seemed to turn off for only a minute. In that minute, the Hive were at our doorstep, a horde of Thralls, led by a Knight, had charged in, me and my friend being the first ones they saw.

I remember dropping the ball before making a break for her. The terror in her face, was burned into my memory. I grabbed her by the hand, pulling her back to the city. The screeches of the Hive that filled the air were the most dangerous thing I could remember from back then. As we ran though, I felt her trip and fall to the ground. I remember the feeling of despair, hell, I could feel the tears I had back then on my face. I remember turning around and getting between her and the Hive, me, a lone boy, powerless and defenseless, going against the Hive, it was absurd, but it was the only thing I could do. I remember closing my eyes, waiting for the end.

But, it never came, I remember a loud blast, and the sounds of arc energy, crackling in the air. And once I opened my eyes, I saw my first guardian, a Titan. I wasn't able to see who it was due to my watery eyes, but I remember it was the first moment I started to idolize the guardians. I remembered the Titan looked at me over their shoulder, and spoke a few words. "Protect her...you may be the only one that can."

As my memory played these words, my consciousness came back to the present. I had led Raylin after Jarvis into large circular room. I heard the sounds of the Thralls behind us. The words from my past played again and again in my head, until I could hear that arc energy again. Once we had truly entered the room, I clenched my fist and pulled Raylin past me before letting go. I turned and leaped forward, right into the crowd of Thralls. I remember striking the ground as the Thralls moved to swipe at me, then within seconds, I felt I could breath again, standing back up to the ashes of Thralls that had been blasted away.

Jarvis turned to me, seeming relieved that the Thralls were gone. "Oh...thank god.." He says as he caught his breath.

I look over to the both of them, trying to catch my breath as well. "Jarvis...you suck.." I say, a bit ticked at his cowardice.

Raylin soon comes back out of her shock before falling to a sitting position. "I-I couldn't stand against them…" Her voice was filled with a kind of sadness.

I gave a small sigh, I couldn't blame her, not even Jarvis. I could feel my knees shaking even now. How would we even be able to complete a mission in this state…..


	9. Rasputin, The Hive, A Message :Chapter 8

"Are the three of you alright?! I'm getting Hive signatures all over the area!" Cayde spoke in a fearful and quick tone over the comms.

Hearing his voice was almost relieving. "Yea...we are alive." I say as I stood back up from our small group.

Cayde gave a sigh of relief. "Good…" Is all he said as he seemed to be calming down himself.

I looked over to Raylin and Jarvis, both of them seem to be on the edge of both their sanity. Then Raylin spoke. "How are we supposed to fight something that the three of us fear?!"

I didn't know if she was speaking to Cayde or to the rest of us. I know that Jarvis may not be able to pick up this team, and maybe Raylin isn't in a state to do so either. Well, time to at least try. "Raylin, Jarvis!" I say loudly to draw their attention out of their slumps.

Raylin and Jarvis both looked up at me, both seeming to still be at a low. "What Drake?.." Jarvis said in a small tone.

I take a deep breath and try my best to think of what to say as I talk. "Look, I know that both of you don't want to die, I'm the same way. And we all know this mission might be suicide, but if we don't try and show these Hive what we are made of, what will we do?"

The two of them seemed to be contemplating my words as they looked at me, but I had to finish this speech, because I'm starting to get nervous from it. "No one said this life would be easy, believe me."

The two of them seemed to be struck by that, even Cayde's voice lit up our comms. "Wow, now that's a mini speech, especially on the front lines. I approve."

I smiled slightly at his approval. I looked back to the two as Jarvis stood up with a grunt. "Alright, fine. I got your back, but once we get to the Tower, you're taking care of the bolt head Kry if needed."

I chuckle a bit as he walked to my side, soon followed by Raylin standing up as well. "I wasn't sure who I was joining on this mission, whether it was a bunch of weak guardians, or some bad ones, but I guess I came out here with some brave ones. So I guess I can return that bravery."

I smile and nod to her. "Alright, first, let's search the room, might find something here." Jarvis says with added bravery in his voice.

Me and her nod to him before we all start to move around the room. My search was more focused on the large pillar of tech in the center of the room, however, once I approached it, the entirety of it began to spin to life with a loud hum. Causing me to jump a bit in shock. And if that wasn't enough to scare me, a turret popped out of the top of it, ready to gun me down. I quickly cover my head, but after a few seconds of it not firing at me, I look back up to it, in which it was just simply watching me.

I kept my eyes on it as Ghost's voice rung in my ear. "Maybe it's waiting for the piece?"

"Oh, so now you talk…" I chuckle slightly as the piece then began to form in my hands. Once it did, the turret then sunk back into it's hole before a panel on the side of the pillar opened up, revealing mechanical arms, ready to take the piece. I look down at Rasputin in my hands before handing it over to the hands. The hands quickly latched on, yanking the piece inside. The panel closes behind them, followed by sounds that indicate it was repairing Rasputin.

"Guys! Rasputin is being fixed!" I yell off to them, who were up on a platform, seeming to be looking at a monitor. I quickly make my way over the ramps up to the platform to join them. "What's happening guys?" I ask as I make my way over to them.

Raylin turns to look at me. "Rasputin is warning us of waves of Hive, on their way here." I could tell fear still hid in her voice.

I gulped slightly and nodded. Waves of them? Well, it's now or never. "You guys know that the Hive are said to haunt the dreams of children?"

They both nod. "Yea, so what?" Jarvis asks as he brought his gun up from his side.

I smile a bit as I loaded my auto rifle. "I think it's time to haunt their dreams."

I heard the both of them, letting off a chuckle that seemed to show that they had some stressed relieved. Also, it was easy to see this once they loaded their guns. Soon our gun noises were overtaken by the screeching noises of the Hive charging into the room. As the many Hive enemies were charging into the room, the air around felt quite different, it almost felt...strong, maybe not full of courage...but it was enough. As the enemies approached us, we didn't falter away this time, we stood against them. The only regret I have for the firefight, is that I don't know which one of us three had fired the first bullet.

None the less I had to charge forward. I ran right into the crowd of Hive enemies, immediately swinging my fist I watched a thrall practically disintegrate. Only to pull out my auto rifle and shoot a nearby Acolyte. I looked over to see Raylin running, headshotting anything that got in her way. I felt glad that she had gained some confidence through my speech and actions. However I got distracted again by the sudden wave of trawls that all headed towards me. I began shooting into the wave. Raylin seemed to be busy with trying to take down a knight. And Jarvis?... Well Jarvis..

"KAMEHAMEHA!" I heard shout from behind me from above. I jumped back as I felt the blast from a Void Light Blast land into the large wave of tralls. I turned to him.

"Really?" I asked trying to hold my smile. Jarvis chuckled as he pulled his pulse rifle back out and started on another knight that came in. We spent several minutes taking down Knights and acolytes. After a while we all had time to catch our breath. Raylin seemed relieved, however it didn't last much longer as an ogre came in with more Knights and acolytes. Soon followed were thralls. Which all aimed for me. Raylin and Jarvis all began shooting at the Ogre. I growled a bit just wishing this would all end. Within seconds I jumped up and slammed my fists down, a shockwave made all the thralls that were attempting to rip me limb by limb disintegrate, including a knight that just happened to get caught in the crowd. It was sad, I almost felt bad for it. I shook my head at the thought and ran around taking care of the other Knights and Acolytes while Raylin and Jarvis eventually took down the Ogre. I took a deep breath and walked over to them as the Ogre dropped. Suddenly I heard a bullet speed right past my head. I looked behind me to see a Knight I missed, now headless drop. I turned again to see Raylin twirling her hand Cannon and putting it away.

"Whoa, thanks, but warn a guy next time." I said with a chuckle.

Raylin chuckled as she sheathed her hand cannon. "I'll see if there has to be a next time."

As she said this, sounds of machines all around us seem to sound off that Rasputin had finally fixed himself. "Hey love birds, I'm not sure about you two, but I want out of this place." Jarvis said with a chuckle of his own.

"Shut it Jarvis." I say with a small chuckle. "Well, let's go guys!" I say to them as we began to make our exit. It wasn't long before we were back in our ships and headed back to the tower.

"Hey guys, I'm getting word that Rasputin is all good." Cayde says over the comms.

"Yea, we are on our way back." Raylin says in an upbeat tone."

"Good, good, now can you guys get back here quick? Myata and Kry….well...Myata is trying to kill Kry." Cayde says as if it was normal.

Me and Jarvis sigh before Raylin answers him during her sigh. "Fine….we'll get them…"

Overall, that mission was close to being a disaster, but hey, we made it. Now I'm wondering what Kry had gotten himself into…


	10. Nightfall Over The Tower's Light :Chap 9

As the three of us set foot on the tower, we were greeted by an unreasonable sight. First was Kry, running at full speed across the courtyard, obviously frightened. "I said it was an accident!" He yelled as he ran.

Next was Myata, leaping at incredible distances. She had leaped in front of us before yelling after Kry. "Get back her you son of a…" The rest of what she was about to say was covered in the force of her leap.

Lastly was Zula, clearly out of breath, and looking like she'd soon pass out herself. As she ran past us, she spoke in between breaths. "They….just don't….stop…" She tells us before running after them again.

"Should we….?" Jarvis asks in utter confusion.

"They'll be fine." I state as we began to walk to the hall of guardians. I earned an audible grunt of agreement from Raylin as the yells of Kry become distant behind us. We walked into the hall, nothing seemed to have changed from my visit from a few days ago. Cayde and Zavala were standing side by side as they looked over something in the middle of the table. Seeing the two seeming to work together was a pretty inspiring moment. Once we had gotten near them, Zavala took up notice of us. "You must be the three that went into Rasputin." He says, seeming to speaking as if he was proud, however you couldn't mistake the quiet chuckles of Cayde in the background.

Zavala just seemed to shrug it off, but his gaze seemed to gain a strange feeling once he saw me among the three. "Hmm, it seems Drake truly did have potential." He says with a chuckle.

Raylin nodded and looked back at me. "Yea, he's quite the guardian, and I'd say he has aspects of a leader."

"I second that." Jarvis says as he intervenes.

Zavala nodded. "Yes, I heard of his small talk with the two of you. Now the problem is the Hive. We don't know how they were locked in there."

I tilted my head after the rush of praise. "Locked? You mean they didn't break into Rasputin?"

Cayde nodded as he fixed the hologram of the battle footage. "We've analyzed the Hive you fought, and it seemed to us that they were far more starved then ones that other guardians have found recently."

Zavala then turned back to us. "However, we are still analyzing the footage. In the meantime, the three of you must be exhausted from the experience…"

"You can say that again." A small summary of what the three of us had said.

He nodded and chuckled at our remarks. "Then go ahead and rest, you deserve it…"

"Guys! Hel-" Kry interrupted the whole thing as he ran in and tripped down the stairs.

As we turned, I heard Jarvis sigh as a few feet behind Kry was Myata. "Gotcha now you son of a-" she was cut off by Zula seeming to slam into the back of her almost like a Titan shoulder charge. It earned an audible yelp from her as she sailed from the entrance to on top of the hologram projector on the table with a mighty slam.

"What the hell was that fo-" she turns her head to yell at Zula before Cayde was caught in her eyes, instantly freezing her.

Cayde stood there a bit uncomfortably before speaking slowly. "Are you alright?"

And as if on cue, her eyes blank out, and she's back to being passed out. Zula soon walked back into the room. "Finally, I was close to passing out myself…" She says with a chuckle.

Cayde gave an audible sigh after Zavala gave one. "Get your friend, off my map."

Everything after that was kind of a blur, all the way up till nightfall as a matter of fact. For me, I was walking along the tower, kinda taking in the sights of the city below. I knew my father and mother were down there somewhere, still cheering me on.

If I was correct, then I knew where the others were. Kry had been told by Cayde of a small little hideout in the tower for him to hide in. Jarvis was either trying to hang out with Luxan, or had gone to bed. Zula had gone to somewhere, but with those daggers of glares she gives me, I honestly don't care. Myata, I believe she was still in the infirmity after her, um….incident. And I think Raylin is over where I've heard the Iron Banner is stationed. I'm kinda stuck on what to do….so I'm thinking if I should go talk to one of them….

Hmmm, I guess Kry is a good idea. As I start to walk to the secret hideout, I send a message to him to notify him that I'm coming. To my surprise, I get an immediate response. I decide to ask him what had happened with Myata, but he answers that with a message after that. So here's what he said, and what I imagine….

During our Rasputin mission, well more near the end, Kry had ended up on watch duty. He was tasked with watching over her, which he does say he didn't mind. But as he was watching over her, she twitched slightly. He had gotten up from his chair to see if she had woken up. As he got closer to see, she twitched yet again, but more near her facial area. He told me he got to her bedside as he leaned in to see if something else was causing the twitching. However, and sadly for him, as he did so, she woke up. Now, being greeted with his face so close to hers, it was natural for her to scream, and for Kry, he says his natural reaction to a sudden occurrence like that, he says his natural reaction is to fight. So once that happened, he analyzed what was his closest weapon, in this case, was his head. So, he head butted her, knocking her clean out again. Realizing what he did, he tried to sneak out of the room, but she awoke again, and he says we saw the rest….

Once reading he head butted her, I was already on the floor, trying not to laugh my spine out of me. I typed to him, saying, "smooth moves man" before getting back to my feet. However, after that, I got a message that he was heading to sleep, so that I had to leave him alone. Well, one person is off my list, who shall be the next person I talk to?

Myata, honestly I just want to check if she is alright, plus I'm tired, so if I fall asleep, it'll be in a bed somewhere in the infirmary. So, win win. I began to make my way to the infirmary as I began to see the automated robots are beginning to go into sleep mode. It did give a slight ominous feeling, so I walked a bit faster past them. Once I did enter the infirmary, the lights were out, except for one small lamp, next to Myata who was sitting in her bed.

I take a small breath before even talking. "Hey Myata, you ok?" I ask as a blatant question.

"Yeah you know, fine and dandy, it's not like I've been malfunctioning more often lately" Her glowing mint eyes rolled in slight annoyance.

Yep, she's doing somewhat fine at least. "Sorry, it's kinda the go to way of starting a conversation here. Do you need to talk about why you're malfunctioning?" I ask, I did know why, I just want to know more. Myata went silent, she looked away sighing.

"I rather not….it's a long...and weird story…" She simply responded, a tone of sadness coming from her voice.

Hearing an Exo being sad, quite the often thing going on around here. I smile softly before pulling off my helmet for the first time after meeting the girls and sit in the bed across from her. "Well, I've got time, and I've been through some weird things too." From there Myata took a minute to think.

"Look, when I was a lower level, some asshats took me to the Vault of Glass. I was too low of a level, and they took me in..and left me there to die. They left, just plain left and during the process I was hurt in a way that I haven't even found out what's broken in my body. Ever since that day I nearly died….I just...malfunction…" she refused to look at me. Looking down at her hands as she clutched them tightly.

Seeing her like this was almost heart breaking, if I remember correctly, she was more sassy even when we first met her, minus the uncomfortable feeling of Kry's gaze. "Oh...well that is a terrible thing to do to another guardian. But...if that happened to you, how did you escape?" I ask, trying to piece the story together.

"What do you think!? It's obvious isn't it? HE snuck out and found me dying...HE's the reason I'm here, the reason I'm ALIVE….I just wish he knew how much it meant to me…"

I bite my lip as she told me, quite assertively I might add. So Cayde is in a way why she's malfunctioning, but not in the way I expected. "Cayde saved your life…that explains it...I guess he doesn't remember or something?"

"Look I don't know, he probably honestly hates me if he did remember me...he was busted for sneaking out after saving me. I heard Zavala's voice before I shut down, woke up in the infirmary, and I left before anyone could visit me...not that i had anyone to come visit me at the time…" She frowned in deep thought. "But look at me now, toughest of the tough and leader of my small fire team of hunters, but yet I'm probably a joke to everyone else, hell the girls don't take me seriously when we're around him. They know I malfunction when I get too close to him or if he even speaks to me at times...I wish my body could regain control..so maybe I'd be taken more seriously.."

Could the thing that's broken in her be what Kry saw when he was watching her? That is something I'm going to have to find out some other time. Now, what she's saying is seeming to be the worst case scenario, at least in my opinion. "Well, I think the hate thing may be wrong, because I remember each time I've seen you malfunction in front of him, he seemed to be almost happy to see you. And the whole malfunction thing, all I can do is hope that I can help." I said all this with a smile on my face, but however, I take a deep sigh before scratching my neck. "I guess I need to tell you something about myself so we are even, huh?"

"Please if he was happy to see me maybe he would've said something by now…"Myata scoffed. "But yes, I would like to be even a bit...I poured my heart out already, let's see what's in that big heart of yours?" Myata seemed to almost smile.

I wanted to try and help, but I knew I most likely couldn't help all at once, so I wanted to try and steer her away from those memories of hers. Now, I hope she can keep a secret. "First, do you know of a guardian that went by the name of Kabr?" I ask as I sit up.

"Whatt? Nooooooo I don't think ANYONE has heard of Kabr." She chuckled a bit.

"Well, for one, I met him in person." I chuckled back, honestly starting to like that sarcasm or sass she has, I had a small thought of her and Cayde having a sass off, but I digress.

"Got any proof?" She asked trying to sound too curious.

I smile and hold my hand, ready to gesture my ghost out. "Can you keep a secret?"

"No, I have the loudest mouth ever" she chuckled rolling her eyes in sass.

I roll my eyes in response as I began the gesture, having Ghost materialize in my hand. "This, is Kabr's ghost."

Ghost even nodded towards her. "He isn't wrong."

Myata was silent processing all that was recently presented to her. Til she stood up.

"It's….so...CUTE!" Myata gazed at it in amazement, it seemed she had a slight fascination with ghosts. I tilt my head in confusion from her unexpected reaction as ghost seemed to become either embarrassed or uneasy.

"Ok?" Is all I could say after seeing that reaction.

"Sorry…" She stood slightly embarrassed. "It's a...it's a robot thing...it's been said that Exo's bodies are so complex...that only Ghosts can fully figure out their inner workings...it's quite interesting to me…" She shrugged a bit. I nod at her explanation, and decide to think on it later.

"So is that enough proof for you?" I ask as I watched her sit back down.

"Naaahhh I kinda wanna see more" she spoke jokingly. I roll my eyes and start to think. Once I reached an idea, all I had to do was look at Ghost before he nodded at me.

"Show her that day…" I say softly as he began to hover above the both of us. Once in a good position, he projected a small video of that day in the tower, showing Kabr walking amongst the attendees to the festival, and when he talked to me. I watched with what felt like nostalgia.

Myata watched the projected scene. She nodded in acceptance and smirked. "Sounds like you're just someone special huh?"

I turned to her with a slight smile on my face, whether it was from happiness, or fear, I couldn't tell. "I guess I am…" Before I knew it, I could feel my head dropping down till I was gazing at my hands. "I still think of why he choose me…" I admitted.

"Listen..uh...kid..you got a big heart, and plus you're pretty strong for a low level. You might even surpass me when you reach my level. But from what I've seen you do so far, I wouldn't worry about why he chose you, you should think about what you're going to do, because he chose you." She chuckled and reached up patting my shoulder. I could feel my spirits rising from that.

"First off, kid?" I chuckle a bit as that didn't necessarily bug me, but was just funny. "Second, you're right...however, his only offspring, if they saw his ghost with me, I may be made to look like it was my fault he died." I state it like this since I didn't know if she knew who it was.

"Offspring? You mean Raylin?...I don't know, she doesn't like to talk about him much. Best keep that to yourself for a bit though…" There was a moment of silence. "And yes..kid, as far as we know, I'm a Exo and probably leagues older than you" she chuckled really trying to change the topic.

I smiled a bit more, she was trying to do the same thing to me. "Either way, I swore to avenge Kabr, then maybe I could do that for me and her…" I then chuckled again. "So? Who knows how old you really are?"

"I don't remember my exact age…but I've known Raylin since she was practically a child almost. If that says anything. I can just hope I don't forget those memories..seems like Exo's are always losing their memories...I'd hate to have that happen to me...I have so many good things to remember.."

"Hmmm" I scratched my chin as I try thinking again. "Well, how about you tell me some of the memories, and if you ever forget, I tell you them back?" I say with a smile.

"Well….you know the thing with Cayde, those are one of my most cherished ones...but I remember when I first met Raylin. She was so small. I was heading back to my place at the moment, when I walked past a small back alley park. She was running outside the fenced area though and ran into me. I asked her if she was lost but she said she was..looking for a friend of hers. I tried to help her but eventually it was too dark for even an Exo to see...so she told me she was going home and ran off. I've ran into her several times after that. Seems like she was always playing Hide N' Seek with some guy. I never got to see him though. She would just make up excuses sometimes on why she couldn't find him." Myata shrugged.

"Sounds like she had one heck of childhood...did she ever tell you what ever happened with the guy?" I asked, completely curious.

"I just remember her telling me one day that he had to leave for a long time...I'm guessing he moved...what was more upsetting was that a few years after that she told me her father had gone away forever. So I took her in, she seemed to never mention a mother. And didn't talk about it when I asked her about one.. She just...asked to stay with me.. And never left.."

I cringed as she went on about how these people left Raylin, and here I was, thinking to be honored to be the last one to see Kabr off, yet she was broken. "That….I can't even find the words…."

"Don't worry...if it makes you feel better. I met Zula during a crucible match, she was beating the shit out of a titan" Myata chuckled

I began to chuckle, but I found myself stopping before I could. "Do you know why she hates titans so much?"

"Nope, it's almost like she was born with it" Myata shrugged.

I sigh and nod, maybe her hatred is something I can't comprehend. "Fair enough…" I then begun to contemplate whether I should let her know more about me or not.

"Hey...thanks for coming to talk to me...I really needed it.." Myata smiled as much as an Exo could smile.

I nod and smile back at her. "Any time, and if you need to talk again, just get me. I'll be happy to talk." I say as I began to stand back up.

"Will do, who knows, maybe someday you'll see how awesome I am on the battlefield, see what standards you'll have to meet" she chuckled teasingly.

I chuckled and roll my eyes, waving to her as I walk out. "I guess we will wait and see. See ya Myata."

"See ya later kid" she chuckled waving nonchalantly.

I rolled my eyes yet again as I made my way out of the infirmary. At least there is still humanity in us guardians. Once I reach the courtyard however, I'm greeted by a message from Kry, with a few words only. It read "I heard….."...


	11. The Guardian's Blade : Chapter 10

"...don't worry, I'm not a snitch." Kry said to me with a seemingly angered sigh.

I sigh in relief at his statement. "Thanks man, I bet she would be grateful as well if she knew."

He almost seemed to growl at my remark. "That's the problem…I didn't want to know this stuff."

I sigh and nod. "Then what?"

"I'll keep quiet, I just need to really come to terms with the Myata thing." He says with a sigh.

I nod yet again, backing off from this. We were on our way to meet with the other four, Cayde had apparently found something. I just hope Myata is keeping her cool. Yet once we had made it to everyone at the front railing, I could see Myata was keeping a better composure around him, however still shaky. Jarvis looked like he barely got any sleep, Raylin seemed to have a strange aura around her, and Zula….well, she was cleaning her knife before giving me a usual scowl.

"Ah, there's the rest of you, now, listen up!" He said in his upbeat tone. "Me and Mr. Z back in the hall have found something. And it may be something you all might need to know." He begins to say as his own ghost began to project an image for us. As the image came into a clear image, we could recognize it to be one of Venus. As I began to wonder why Cayde was showing us an image of Venus, Jarvis spoke up.

"Wait, what's that by the Ishtar Sink?" He spoke before yawning, pointing at a section of the planet. I could see the rest of us lean forward to look at where he was pointing. When I saw what it was, it was the unmistakable sight of Hive tomb ships.

"Why are the Hive at Venus?!" Raylin says loudly.

"We are still trying to figure that out ourselves." Cayde says with a robotic sigh. "However, the signatures these Hive are giving off resemble that of the ones you encountered in Rasputin."

"Did we end up releasing these Hive?" I ask, expecting a vague answer.

"Well, first off, Ikora has labeled these forms as the Starved Legion. Second we believe this sect of Hive was awoken when one of their prisons were attacked."

"Prisons?" Myata asked, it seemed her curiosity for the situation had surpassed her nervousness.

"We are still figuring that out...now, right now those Hive are doing something on Venus, and we know a way to force them back to the moon." Cayde says as he tries to change the subject. "The Hive on the moon are trying to reforge the destroyed sword of Crota."

"I thought that sword was destroyed by a guardian years ago." Zula said in annoyance, her posture showing her annoyance as well.

"Yes, by two guardians, one being a Titan." Cayde says in a whisper, I guess he's tired of her unguided hatred. Yet it seemed she heard him, giving an audible growl. "Anyway, the Hive are trying to reform the destroyed sword within the summoning pits."

"So you want three of us to go to the summoning pits to destroy it?" Kry says in an unnatural tone, filled with something that was nowhere close to his usual tone.

Cayde seemed to pick up on his tone as well as he tilted his head skeptically. "Yea, and we theorize that it's destruction will cause the Hive at Venus to retreat back to the moon. Now, who volunteers to…"

"I'll go!" Kry calls out loudly, whether he's being guided by anger or courage, I'm not sure.

Cayde almost seemed to jump at his call, but allowed it with a nod. "Alright, now Zavala has recommended that Drake should go along, and one of Myata's team as well." I tilted my head in confusion, I was just gonna be sent anyway?

Myata seemed to look over her teammates, knowing Raylin had been through a mission already, and that Zula would most likely be blinded by rage at me, she sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll go."

Cayde nodded with a respective movement. "Alright, I'll be on the comms to help you through the mission, good luck you three."

And with that, Cayde dismissed us, allowing the other three to go on their own as Kry, Myata and I got to our ships. Within minutes, we were entering the airspace of the moon, a sorrowful place of humanity's attempt at exploration. We came to a point above the Hellmouth before setting down on the ground. I pulled my auto rifle out as Kry loaded his scout rifle, and Myata with her auto rifle.

"Let's move." Kry said with authority in his voice. I never knew Kry would be one to have a voice like that. Myata seemed to raise tilt her head at the tone as well, she must be surprised he hasn't been staring at her yet. We began our journey with the gate, me and Myata sharing around four acolytes, then Kry taking two knights on by himself, and succeeding. I nodded in approval at his kills, but he didn't even wait, he was already moving deeper in the pits. As we had moved deeper into the Hellmouth, more kills were racking up, it was relieving that the Hive were no problem now to any of us. Acolytes, thralls, and knights dropped ahead of us. Heck, even a wizard was killed quite quickly when we ran into one.

"This seems almost too easy." I say as we had cleared a path deeper.

"It's starting to get boring." Myata says with a sigh.

"Then let's just finish it." Kry says, either filled with authority or anger. Myata seemed to be wondering what was up with him as well. I just hope she doesn't ask.

We soon found ourselves in the area known as the Circle of Bones. It was quite ominous to tell the truth. It didn't help the fact that we were close to the summoning pits. If the stories were true, an ogre of tremendous strength was being created in the summoning pits, one that would have caused tragedy for the city if it was complete. Three guardians came down here and fought against it, bringing the beast down. Were the Hive fixing the sword with that ogre's lingering power?

"Come on, it's just down there." Myata said to us before sprinting down a corridor. Me and Kry followed closely. We took out two more knights before getting to the door, the knights being of the hollowed kind. However, once we entered the room, it was filled with so many Hive of each kind, you couldn't count them all. And in the center of the room, a lone knight sat with the reforming blade. The blade itself wasn't complete, the pieces seem to have to be placed over pure Dark energy.

"Well, I think they set up a party for us." Myata says with a grin.

"I couldn't agree more." I say with a chuckle. I expected Kry to add something to that, but however, he remained silent. The sound of our guns loading had drawn the attention of the Hive, and once they stood, they were shot back down.

"Let's do this!" Myata shouted and sped ahead, shooting every hive insight. Kry looked over to me before running ahead as well, I soon followed. I immediately smashed a thrall down with my fist, shooting any others around me down. Me and Kry caught each other gazes. Hearing the screech of a wizard. We both saw it fly in and immediately we both began shooting towards it. Meanwhile from the corner of my eye I noticed Myata shooting down acolytes, running towards the knight with the blade. Kry took the final shot as the wizard screeched and fell to its death. We both ran for Myata. Kry got a bit took close to her however and shoved her down. A click and small growl came from her as more sudden screeches came. Another wizard and thralls ran in. I quickly grabbed the two hunters mad ran back a bit to get some distance. The sight of the hive seemed almost overwhelming.

"We need a plan" I look to the two. Myata stood up and looked as if she was analyzing the place.

"I got one, let's take out the wizard and the thralls." She looked at Kry.

"Are you kidding me? It'd be better to go after the thralls first!" Kry looked angrily at Myata.

"Not unless we got over them" she spoke and looked at me, I tilted my head in confusion but I also felt my stomach drop at the same time. She pulled out her ghost and summoned her sparrow.

"Get on kid, you'll know what to do, Kry...help me throw this thing" she spoke. Kry groaned.

"We aren't Titans!" He began to complain only to be interrupted.

"That's WHY I said HELP" she snarled at him. He went silent in acceptance. But this time I was already on the sparrow. I couldn't help but trust Myata. Seemed like she was defiantly aiming for cool points. Together her and Kry lifted me on the Sparrow. I struggled to keep my balance.

"Ok! Start the boost and take off" Myata shouted. I nodded and started the sparrow, immediately launching with the air lift thanks to Kry and Myata's throw. I flew over the thralls right towards the wizard. Within seconds I knew what to do. As I got closer to the wizard I stood. Seeing the bullets from Kry and Myata shooting at it to weaken it. I soon found myself close enough and jumped up. And smashed my fists with a lighting strike into the Wizards skull. It screeched and fell dead. I landed on my two feet luckily but stumbled to keep my balance. I took notice of the thralls running towards me. And pulled out my gun, hoping it wouldn't be too late. Til I took notice of the blue flash that appeared. Myata ran towards me leaping at incredible distances swinging her blade as if she didn't have a care in the world. She got close to me, but then turned away. She leaped towards the lone knight. Growling.

"MYATA! NO!" I heard Kry shout out, and within one executive swing, Myata's super charge ran out and the lone knight swung at her, sending her flying, landing right next to Kry. I ran over to see if she was ok, she didn't seem to have gotten up yet when I arrived.

"We've got other things to worry about" I heard Kry say, he moans from Myata told me she would be up in a second. She began getting up right when I looked around. seeing us surrounded by Hallowed Knights.

Me and Kry were crouched at Myata's side, looking around at the many Knights, one of them seeming to be the leader, and the one that was in the center earlier.

"Keep her safe…" Is all Kry muttered before he stood up. I was ready to say otherwise, but before I could, I saw him pull his knife out of it's sheath. The knife itself seemed to already be coursing with arc energy, I knew that was a sign of a blade dancer, but he hasn't activated his super yet, so the knife was greatly unsettling. The blade even seemed to be leaking it's own arc energy.

"Kry, what are you doing?!" Myata yelled up at him.

He only tightened his grip on the blade, causing arc energy to spark off his body, but as he tightened his grip more and more, more arc energy would spark off of him, in larger amounts too. Seeing the energy shut me and Myata up, besides the sparks and the Hive around us, growling was heard from Kry. As this was happening, a Hive tombship was coming to the platform behind us, but it didn't faze Kry as his energy kept building. Even the knights around us were becoming uneasy until…

"Welcome to your nightmare…" Kry mutters before motioning like any other Blade Dancer, causing large arcs of energy to strike the surrounding knights, stunning them. Then as if he was a bolt himself, he lunged at every single one of them, striking each once before returning to his original spot. At this point, a bolt had found it's way to the tombship, yet Kry raised the knife to the ceiling. And with tremendous power, the knife blasted each knight with massive amounts of arc energy, along with the tombship. One at a time, the knights would be blasted away, the tombship soon followed as it began to blow up, falling down to the abyss before the room shook with the explosion. As Kry lowered the knife, his super came to an end before falling to one knee, catching his breath.

"What….the hell...was that?" Is all I could ask after witnessing such a light show.

"What the fuck is that! That was anything but blade dancer to me!" Myata struggled to get up. Concerned, at the same time an expression of want was aimed at the blade. Clearly she was interested in the blade however didn't want Kry to know that.

I got up with her before walking to my friend. However, once I reached him, he turned his face towards us, the lights in his eyes and mouth were flickering, seeming to threaten us that he might die. I gasp as the blade we were sent to destroy was broken from its trance, falling and shattering against the floor. The mission was complete, but my attention was on my friend.

"Damn it Kry, you better had not done anything drastic to your own life, you son of a bitch!" Myata stormed over and grabbed Kry by the shoulders and shook him a bit.

Kry was looking at her with what I believe was shock, well at least from what I could gather from his literally flickering expression. "I don't know...b-but I'd be glad either way." He spoke as if he was running out of battery.

"Damnit…" I spoke as I tried to think of a way to help in the dire situation. What he told me before he stood against them was playing in my head, "keep her safe" was playing again and again, did he expect to die?

"KRY DON'T YOU DARE. DIE ON ME. NEVER FOR ME EITHER" Myata shook him again trying to shake sense into him. Soon giving up on him and pulling out her ghost. "See if you can fix him.." She spoke to it before it went in.

Kry was still flickering in and out on us, seeming to just be waiting. Once the ghost entered, he seemed to gain another symptom, twitching. As I watched him, I started to think, maybe he used his inner workings, like his own energy to live in that super, or that blade draws more power than is actually needed. Could it be he's low on energy? I pondered this as I'm notified that my lightning strike was ready.

"KID HELP ME" Myata began demanding, she seemed to have been beginning to run out of ideas.

"Don't die on me you bolt head…" I say as I decide to try something, I grabbed a part on his chest plate, it will have to suffice as a receiver. I then began to use my lightning strike, pouring the arc energy into Kry, whose eyes started to glow brighter, but still flickered as his body twitched greatly. I could feel arc energy seeping out of me as his face changed. Once I finally stopped, his twitching stopped, but his lights grew dull.

Myata sighed. "Let's get to the ship.. He probably needs to be checked out a bit..or at least rest..and Kry...if you can hear me..if you EVER pull that again I will kick you dead ass" she chuckled and draped his arms over her shoulder to carry him.

I stood up, I could even feel my fists clench. "What the fuck?! That's all you've got to say to him after he put his own life on the line for our own?!" I yelled as I followed.

"Well I haven't heard you say thanks to him. At least I was going to stay with him in the infirmary." Myata frowned "don't make me the asshole when you have neglected to say the thing we are all thinking, I'm sure even the others if they're watching are silently thanking him. Sometimes when things happen...you don't have to say anything..because we are all thinking it..and he knows it...I hope…"

After she said this, I unclenched my fists, looking down at the ground. Kry was ready to give it his all, to save the ones he cared about, he was a hero today. I hope everyone knows that….

"Look kid, I'll be honest with you. I'm not good at saying thank you...sometimes I just think that they know how much gratitude I have towards them when they help me, sometimes I say it because I think that they think they did so little, but to me was a lot. Like last night between us...if you're wondering, no...I never thanked HIM either…" Myata spoke as she carried Kry. She was surprised that he wasn't as heavy as he looked, that or she was just suddenly stronger.

I chuckled a bit as I came up to the other side of him, pulling his other arm over my shoulder. "At least thank Kry in person...I think it would mean a lot to him at least…"

"If he survives through the night...maybe I will.." She simply spoke.

I nodded to her only…before I knew it, we were back at the tower, the five of us were still watching him at night, hell, even Zula was ignoring me enough to be watching him. Myata, surprisingly, was at his bedside, waiting. I could only imagine at what everyone was thinking.

"Damnit….I knew this bolt head was crazy...but doing something like that…" Jarvis said. It was clear he thought of Kry as a brother, especially after he told me when we brought Kry back. So it must be hard for him to come to terms with the situation.

Suddenly, there was a great amount of clicking coming from Kry, making all of us jump in surprise. We all stood as the clicking kept going, until his eyes, seeming to be an upgraded version of the usual way they were, had come on. The eyes seemed to indicate that he was undergoing an upgrade or something while he was out. He then sat up, looking at all of us, either waiting for a reaction, or examining us.

"KRY!" Myata stood up suddenly. "A-are you ok?!"

He turned his attention to her, not saying anything yet.

I gulped a bit, did he hear me and her talk before we left the pits? Is he expecting the apology?

"Hey...can you speak?.. Hear us...is something wrong? B-because I-i wanted to thank you...but I'm not saying Thank you again.. Hear me?" Myata crossed her arms loosely, from concern but in slight sass as well.

He then nodded. "I can hear you."

That calmed me a bit, but yet, I could feel we were all still uneasy.

He then scratched his neck. "Just, why are you thanking me?"

"Oh no...Kry...what's my name? What's all our names?" Myata spoke in deep concern.

"Kry? I'm not sure who's that, and who you all are. I'm Krytek-5 though." He said softly.

"Shit, OK! EVERYONE OUT OF THE ROOM, EXCEPT YOU, ME, AND KRYTEK" Myata pointed at Jarvis, soon beginning to shove people out of the room.

As she began to push us out of the room, Kry slowly began to laugh.

"Wait what?!" I yell as we each turned to him.

He was actually holding his face as he laughed now. "You all really do care for a bolt head like me."

Myata stared at him, her fists shook, as if she was fuming with rage. She quickly shoved her way out of the room to go cool off.

He quickly saw her reaction, letting out a sigh.

"Damn, she's pissed." Zula said with a chuckle.

Kry nodded and quickly got up, running, or more limp running out after her.

"Go make sure she doesn't reduce him to nuts and bolts." Raylin said with a sigh. I nodded and began to run after them. Once I turned the corner, I saw him run up to her.

"Myata...I'm sorry." He said with deep worry.

"You better… I don't think you understand how SCARY the concept of memory wipe is too me, to anyone! Hell you probably don't even remember the fear since your Krytek-4! You've had it happen to you! Well It isn't funny, when one of your friends suddenly forgets who YOU are! It's something I don't ever want ANYONE to feel! But yet you treat it like its a joke...I wonder how Jarvis feels towards that 4 of yours...because it wasn't funny… To me anyways..I bet it wasn't funny to anyone else who hadn't experienced this before…" Myata held her head as if she had a headache, not even looking at Kry.

Kry was at a loss of words for a good minute before speaking, with quite a small voice. "You have no idea how long I've been at 4...and yes, I have experienced this before...with a friend I had a few hundred years ago...but yet, I talk to what's left every damn day. The only reason I joked about it, was because I wanted to see what you guys would be doing if I woke up one day like that, just to see something like that without truly losing my memory. I'm sorry Myata...I truly am…"

Myata was quick to slap Kry across the face. Only to right away pull him into a hug. " I'm just glad your ok….I think we all are.." She quickly pulled away and shoved him off. "Now go lay the fuck back down, or I'll knock some memory out of you" she chuckled before walking off again, this time much calmer.

Kry smiled more and more as he came to terms to what has happened to him. Soon he stumbled and fell onto his backside, seeming to be locking this memory away. Once she was out of sight, I ran over to him.

"Hey Kry, you ok?" I ask with a smile.

He only chuckled and nodded up at me. "Never better man, never better."

I rolled my eyes as I offered him a hand. "Get up, you need rest."

He gladly accepted the hand and let me help him to his feet. "Thanks Drake…" He said with a grin.

"Why are you thanking me man, you're the one that saved us!" I say with a chuckle as I helped him walk.

"You're welcome by the way." He laughed quietly as we walked along. "But I'm thanking you...because I would have never been able to befriend her without you coming along…"

My smile grew as he spoke, I then looked ahead to the infirmary. "Well, I guess it's no problem, plus, we got you the bed that Myata slept on the other night." I joke a bit about.

He just laughs. "Ok, I think I'm over the obsession man." I only nodded as he then looked ahead and spoke again. "Maybe it isn't bad that I know about last night….because now I know I'm helping my friends with their secrets."

When we got back, Zula was surprised to see he was still in one piece, Raylin and Jarvis were relieved that he was. Zula quickly left after we entered, followed by Raylin after she thanked Kry for saving us. Jarvis scolded him about how he was scared him almost to death, but ended up falling asleep in the bed next to his. It ended with me and Kry talking about what will happen now that the Hive were confirmed to be returning to the moon, and him falling asleep. I remember stretching a bit before going to the next bed on the other side of him, then laying down. Next thing I saw when I closed my eyes, was a line of bright red lights looking at me, and two paths. One was my own….the other...a path to another….


	12. Robotic Nightmares : Chapter 11

The feeling of being watched by something you've never known before is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. As I traversed the shadowed landscape to the paths, the red eyes only followed me. It creeped me out to no end. Once I got to the two paths however, the paths were more unnerving than the eyes. One seemed to resemble me in a way, showing arc energy, some items from my past, and at the top, was the Helm of Saint 14. The other path was quite strange. It didn't seem to be stuck on one person or another. At one point, it resembled that of Hunter gear, next was some Titan gear, lastly it was Warlock gear. The only thing that was staying the same on it's frame was a single, red eye at the top.

I wanted to get away from the eyes, but each path was unsettling, it was hard to decide on what to do, but the Eye that is looking at me, it almost seeming to call out to me. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. With the many eyes closing in behind me, I quickly made my way into the path.

Soon enough, I was deeper into the path, the surroundings had changed to a more rock like structure, seeming to be carved out a millennia ago. Seeing this kind of thing was peculiar to me, however, what happened next had my attention. As I walked among the structure, a sudden pulse of energy seemed to move through the entire area, once I was struck by it, I begun to hear things, from robotic clanging and distorted static, to some actual voices. I began to cover my ears as they were too much for me to handle. I couldn't figure out any of the voices until all but one was left.

"It's been a long time Drake, you aren't that little kid anymore, I can see that." The familiar voice spoke to me. My eyes had widened at its sudden appearance. I uncovered my ears and looked around, hoping to find a source, but to no avail.

"Quite strong, you were right to trust this boy." Another voice spoke, seeming to be speaking to the first one. What's going on? Where am I? I wanted to yell these questions to the voices, but I couldn't find my voice.

"Hmmm, I wonder how my sister is dealing with him back at the tower." A voice spoke up against the other two. The third didn't seem to belong with the first two, yet had similar characteristics.

"That's all you're wondering Drakis? How that sister hasn't done anything to rip him apart?" A fourth voice spoke with sarcasm. The fourth was the only feminine voice of the four. Sister? Ripped me apart?! The only one I could think of with this is Zula. But why am I hearing something about her?

"Enough! I need to speak to him, now, give that power…" The first voice spoke heavily, as if almost out of breath. Once the voice spoke, particles of light began to come together into a form of a person in front of me. Once the form finished, I saw bulky armor, and a helmet that I haven't seen in years.

"It's been a long time Drake…" Kabr spoke to me. It was as if I was talking to a ghost suddenly.

"K-Kabr?!" I spoke in confusion. How could he be here? In my dream?!

"Yes...it's me, well, the last of me that the Vault hasn't erased." He spoke in a joking way, but it was filled with what I believe to be strife.

"The Vault?! You mean I'm in…?!"

"Yes Drake, welcome to the Vault of Glass." He spoke these words as he gestured to my surroundings.

I looked around once more, but more carefully. I began to see places in which Vex technology was abundant, seeming to seep through the whole structure of everything here. "How the hell am I here?!" I ask in a panicked tone.

He only chuckled before answering. "Who knows, all I know is that you are here...and the way you were acting when you entered, that is something I actually know." He said as he walked around me. Did he mean when I heard all those many different things or something?

"You heard them….the voices?" He asked in a dead serious tone.

"I don't…...I believe so.." I began without knowing, but decide it was those noises.

"That's means you know what they are saying…" He spoke in a slightly upbeat tone.

"Who?" I asked, worry on my face.

"Don't worry, it's not important right now. Come here." He said as he gestured me over. I gulped and slowly followed him as he kept his pace.

"Drake, no matter how I see it, you were destined to take my place…." He spoke in an almost peaceful way.

"What do you mean Kabr?" I asked, confused as to his meaning.

"It may sound creepy at first.." He chuckled to himself before continuing. "..But I've seen your bravery and skills since you were very young." Complete confusion had completely taken over my expression as I begun to wonder when this may have started. When has Kabr begun his scouting of me?!

"Ever since that day the Hive broke the Traveler's barrier, and you saved her. Well, gave it your all to save her."

My eyes widened as wide as they could as I looked at him. "Y-you were the guardian to save us!"

He only laughed, seeming to be joined by the other three voices. "Yea, I mean, why wouldn't I save my own daughter and her friend?"

I was about to join in their laughter, but once my brain processed the last bit of info, I wouldn't have been surprised if my eyelids exploded out of my head. "Y-your daughter?"

He nodded as he was finishing his laugh. "Why yes…" All at once, however, his posture turned serious. "..You don't remember do you?"

I look down, feeling lots of strain on my brain. "I...I did…"

Kabr seemed to be stuck between breaths. "Oh shit….." He looked down as well. "...She….she must be broken inside then…" As he spoke these words, he began to fade in and out, his image slowly diminishing.

As he began to do so, the image of everything around me began to fall apart as well. I was slowly losing my consciousness before everything around me disappeared. However, one of the other voices reached me before I was lost. "Hurry back to the tower once you reach the

Well...fix what you can…"


	13. The Leaking Well : Chapter 12

"...Drake wake up!" Myata yelled at me as she shook me awake. I woke with a jump as I sat up quickly, causing her to step back as quickly. I was shaking a bit as the memory of the dream struck me...was it all real, a message?

"Jeez kid, now you're trying to scare me or something?" Myata spoke in a unamused tone.

"Sorry….I had a rough dream…" I say during an exhausted yawn.

She only sighed and shook her head.

"Alright, I'll let it slide this time, now get moving, you, Raylin, and Zula are heading to Venus to check on something." She spoke as she began to walk to the stairs.

"What about the rest of you guys?" I ask as I got up.

"Jarvis I believe is still helping with Luxan, and Cayde is wanting to check up on me and Kry after the...incident." She said the last one with a worried tone.

I nod and walk over to her and gave a smile once I picked up my helmet. "Don't worry about it."

She only chuckled. "I'm not worried about me, it's you who I'm worried about. Zula might try to rip you a new one, so watch your back." She said as she walked away, waving.

She didn't have to remind me...I then jogged up the stairs and to the courtyard. I quickly saw Raylin and Zula talking to each other as they waited, and once they noticed me, Zula took off in quite some speed. Raylin stood there and waited with a smile though.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." She spoke with a chuckle. I rubbed my neck, feeling a bit uneasy around her. If that dream was some kind of message, then I've got a load of stuff to fix.

"Thanks." I say with a forced smile. Almost in an instant, she noticed that I forced it.

"Hey, you alright?" She asked, tilting her head. I nodded quickly to her.

"Yea come on, let's get moving." I spoke as my ship came by. As I was moved to my ship, I saw a look of worry on her face. Soon after, our ships were set on The Ishtar Sink of Venus. From summaries the two told me, we were being sent to a place that was generating a strange energy, Cayde asked us to go check it out, saying it was similar energy to other Vex constructs. Zula seemed silent as ever, but Raylin was also silent, a bit unlike her, but I let it slide.

When we finally set foot on Venus, Zula had loaded her hand cannon, as well as her fusion rifle as me and Raylin were just getting our guns out.

"Come on Raylin, let's get this done." She said as she quickly brought out her sparrow and sped away. Ok, just leaving me out is quite rude now. I thought of that as Raylin sped after her, so I brought mine out and followed. We rode our sparrows down some paths for some time, passing by big landmarks, even a few guardians passing by. We then turned down a small path that led down the side of a mountain. Once we made it around, we were greeted by a cave, giving off strange particles of light, but...it struck me hard that these were the same ones in the dream.

"Strange….what is the Vanguard calling it again?" Raylin asked as she examined the entrance.

"Something like the Leaking Well." Zula spoke with boredom abundant in her tone. Without hesitation, and to my and Raylin's surprise, Zula ran inside.

"Wait Zula!" Raylin yelled after her before looking at me. "Please go stop her." I sighed and nodded as I ran after Zula, hoping she won't rip me to pieces with this chance. However, the deeper into the cave I got, the more distant I felt from light itself. My pace began to slow as I looked around the dark cave.

"Zula? Where are you?" I spoke into the darkness, then all at once, different symbols shown blue all across the wall and ceiling, brightening up the whole cave. However….I wish it hadn't, as once it did, I felt a blade against my throat, and a hand on my back, keeping me against it.

"I really hate Titans…" Zula spoke harshly as she kept me still. "They are all stupid, impulsive, and care only about their walls…" I gulped heavily, was she really going to murder me here?! I wanted to at least fight back, but I knew she must've been on a higher level than me, so I couldn't move.

"...And anything outside those walls, they'll just leave behind…." she spoke more hostile like, but then her voice began to falter. "Yet…."

"Uh...Zula...are you ok?" I spoke carefully, trying not to push the situation further into my neck. All I felt was the knife being pulled away and her grip let go, allowing me to fall to the floor, catching my breath.

"You're only alive now because you've helped my teammates, so I won't kill you...yet." She spoke in her usual annoyed tone. I nodded slowly and kept my breath steady. I almost died here...why? I thought on this until I heard many thuds on the walls, followed by a worried voice of Zula. "W-where's the exit?!"

"What do you mean?" I asked as I stood up, looking around. Once I did, I saw why she was freaking out, we were in a circular room of symbols and dirt, with no exit in sight. I quickly turned around in each direction, still no exit. We were trapped.

"No..no, no, NO!" She yelled as she began to walk around frantically. "I can't be stuck here!"

I was ready to join her fear, but when I turned to her, I saw something that was strange, images seemed to show themselves around her. As I watched her move around against the wall, the images became more abundant and clear, they were images of her, maybe through her life. The images consisted of an Awoken through the years, a family, slowly growing up to a point they had one sibling, an older….brother?

"I wonder how my sister is dealing with him back at the tower…" That line from my dream struck me at the point that she was cutting at the walls with her knife. Could she be related to the voice I heard. I decided to let her calm down before doing anything.

Before I knew it, we were sitting in the middle of the room, sitting ahead of one another, Zula breathing heavily after a few hours of yelling and attacking the walls. To be honest, I'm surprised I wasn't one of the things she has attacked. But I'm not sure if it's luck or her exhaustion. At one point, she was desperate enough to tell me to punch through the wall, so I tried, and now my arm hurts. No sympathy from Zula, to no surprise. Now, I guess we are waiting for help.

"This sucks…" She spoke softly as she sat with her knees pulled back to her chest. I wanted to take a joke at her, but it didn't feel like a good moment. But I am surprised that she hadn't insulted me ever since she almost killed me.

"I know…." I plainly say, what else could I say?

"And this place is pretty strange…" She said as she looked up at me. "Kabr.." She gave a huff of breath at his name, causing me to jump. "Man….I guess that's why you don't suck entirely…" I tilt my head slightly, confused of whether I was being insulted or complimented.

"Uh...thanks…?" I say cautiously. She simply looked at the wall before speaking.

"This cave showed me that part of your past…..I guess something from the Vault of Glass leaked into here...but I saw him choose you...Raylin's father." She said as she rested an arm on one of her knees. I nodded slowly to her before looking back up at her.

"It showed me something too….a brother of yours...Drakis?" I say calmly, however, it didn't seem to calm her nerve after she jumped.

"How do you know that name?!" She almost yelled at me, anger possibly back on her face. I quickly threw my hands up in defense as I talked back.

"It was a dream where I heard that name! I just put the name to the sibling just now!" I said quickly. She seemed ready to attack me, but this time, she was clearly holding back.

"Why are you having dreams about my brother?" She said in full rage, or remorse, or something of that matter.

"I swear it was nothing!" But I knew one last thing to this subject. "He entered the Vault….didn't he?" I asked quietly, but she picked up on what I said, the words almost smacking the anger out of her as she sat back down.

"He….he….." She was clearly lost for words. She took a deep breath before speaking. "Yes….he entered the Vault….his team consisting of three Titans, and two Warlocks." She began with a much quieter tone than ever before.

"When they entered the Vault...all was going good for them...they made it inside, and they fought against what the guardians call the oracles...but a Vex Hydra of massive power attacked them. From what I was told, the Hydra's shield was unbreakable...my brother learned that the hard way...him and the Warlocks were shot down, my brother still alive at the last moment….to see the three Titans abandon him and the others….where they were finished off." She told me this slowly, seeming to choke on every little detail. I could now understand why she hated Titans now.

"Before he left for the Vault, he told me a bit about those three Titans...saying one was a bit dumb...another being impulsive in his fighting...and the third wanting to stay in the tower...but he told me it would be fine…..look at me now…" She said as her voice got more and more horse, putting her head between her knees, possibly to hide herself. I'm happy that I now know why she hates me...but I couldn't help but feel bad for her.

"He's not gone...not yet." I say reassuringly. That drawn her attention to me. I could've sworn I could hear crying.

"How would you know?" She says in forced aggression.

"I heard his voice in my dream...and he was thinking of you.." I say with a happy tone, hoping she'd get one as well.

"So what? I just wish I could see him….even if I had to die…" She spoke as she rested her head back down. As she spoke though the walls began to glow brighter, followed by strange distortions around us, signs that the Vex were coming. I quickly got to my feet as the Vex distortions got stronger.

"Uh, Zula? We got a problem!" I say in a strained tone, pulling my auto rifle into my hands.

"What does it matter? I'm gonna be left to die here anyway…" She said as she seemed to be more distant. As she said this, the wall had acquired the same distortion, seeming to disappear as the Goblins appeared. Our exit was confirmed, but Zula wasn't wanting to fight.

"Save her from her hatred…." A voice whispered to me, it was the voice of her brother if I believe.

"How?..." I asked the voice, honestly at a loss.

"Show her that you won't leave her to die…" The voice of Drakis said with a disappearing chuckle. I rolled my eyes a bit before sighing, I'm helping the girl that had a knife to my throat just a few hours ago? Great. The Vex walked forward towards us, so I took a breath and pulled out my shotgun, blasting away a Goblin that was next to her. The noise caused her to jump and look up at me with a frightened shake. I offered her my hand.

"Come on, let's get the fuck out of here…" I say with a annoyed tone, one like she uses with me.

I held out my hand only to receive a quizzical look. Studying it as if it was a vex construct she shook it off and starts running. I sigh and follow after, we both carry our weapons, shooting at any Vex that gets in our way. Zula tended to primarily shoot any Vex down within a shot. Sometimes I think about how scary the female hunters can be sometimes. I worked to speed up, so she couldn't have all the fun. She looked at me with a saddened composure, before shooting a hobgoblin that ended up behind me. Her composure immediately changed to that of a show off kind of way before I pushed her to the side to punch a few goblins that got behind her. She growled and ran off again. I was quick to follow, shooting down a Minotaur that was up ahead. She joined in activating her super charge, jumping over a goblin before burning her way through, running towards the Minotaur shooting at it.

She went from enemy to enemy blasting out eyes and stabbing cores. Her shaking composure was gone, replaced by an unseen confidence as she flowed through the pit of darkness almost treating it like a dance. As we kept moving down the hall, she'd take glances back at her handiwork, proud of the chaos she created.

I don't know why I didn't see Zula as the competitive type. My mind goes back to Myata talking about how she met Zula in the crucible. I immediately shook the thought off, I was getting off topic as I took the final shot at the Minotaur as it began to come down. I suddenly felt a sudden urge in me. As I ran forward, the Minotaur fell at the perfect angle that I could run up its dead body as it dropped. I jumped off its head and dived down towards the large crowd of harpies, goblins and hobgoblins. Watching most of them evaporate into nothing as I stuck my fists down. Only a few harpies were left standing as I punched one and shot down a few others. Zula caught up and shot down a few harpies herself before we had reached the end of the hall.

I smirked under my helmet, happy about our chaos that we have caused. I could see that she seemed that way as well, looking at the robotic corpses behind us. I took another breath before offering my hand again, but this time, as a way of respect.

"From now on, let's not fight one another, but our common enemies." I say with pride in our skills. She turned toward me, her composure that of an unknown feeling to me. But what struck me as more unusual was that...she accepted my hand, however, she immediately pulled on my hand, pulling me toward her. I was just about to fear for my life once again, but she began to swing me around, allowing me to see a headless Minotaur that had gotten behind me. Once I saw it, I knew that I could trust her now, realizing she was swinging me like a club at the robot. As I made the circle, I swung for it's chest with my fist, completely shattering it to pieces. I was set back down on my feet as it fell to the ground. I chuckled slightly, but stopped as I felt she still had a hold on my hand, so I turned to her as she shook my hand slightly.

"You aren't like the others….so I guess we can compromise." She said with that same annoyed tone, but it sounded...strange to me. "Just don't expect me to change all at once…" She said with what sounded of a hint of happiness, I believe at least. I couldn't help but smile and nod.

"Sure, thank you." I say with a grateful shake of her hand. She nodded slowly once more before turning to walk out of the cave, me following after her.

When the two of us exited the cave, Raylin was literally in the same spot she was when we left her. Once she took notice of us, she looked at the both of us, seeming to be in deep thought.

"Are you two ok?" She asked us, quite concerned.

"Yea, why do you ask?" Zula asks with a slightly cheerful tone, quite different than what I'd usually hear from her.

"For one, you aren't trying to kill Drake, second, you're not acting disgusted around him." Raylin said as if it was a casual subject. Zula nodded slightly before looking at me. The whole situation was starting to get uncomfortable for me to be honest.

"Let's just say…" Zula began as she looked at me. For an odd reason, I had a feeling there wasn't an angry or disgusting face under that helmet of hers. "...He's proven me wrong."

After that, me and Zula were supposedly in that cave for a few minutes, however, Raylin didn't think we were lying about me and her thinking it was hours. We grabbed a sample of Vex mechanisms and some fluid from the cave before getting back to the tower. We gave the samples to Zavala, who gave us the rest of the short day off. So I went off to see how Kry was doing before doing anything else.

"So….you got Zula, the one that despises all Titans, to not hate you anymore?!" He asks me as we stood by the railing of the tower. He was joking about it, yet I could sense the hidden curiosity. I sighed and rested my back against the railing.

"At least that's what I think happened." I admitted to him as I looked over the tower. The sights of the many guardians walking around, the way the courtyard seemed to glow, it was becoming an everyday thing, and it was a good thing, in a way.

"You're one hell of a guy then, because I've never heard of anyone getting that close to her…" He said with a chuckle as he looked over the last city. To be honest, his movements have gotten more fluid, like before, he seemed restricted in battle and such, but now, his movements are now more free and less controlled. I guess that has something to do with the whole 'upgrade' thing I've heard about with him.

"Well, I'm not sure whether to be honored or not." I say with a chuckle of my own. He shook his head as he chuckled with me, patting my back as he stood up strait.

"Well, keep up the good work you crazy man." He said as he walked off, waving.

I couldn't help but wave back with a smile. It seems that everyday now, I get closer and closer with my teammates, and overall, that will help us in the long run. Now, the question is….what do I do now?!


	14. Little Lights : Chapter 13

Authors note: Sorry to you all for not posting recently, I will be trying to post more and more as time passes now. Thank you all for your patience, and I hope you're enjoying the story.

As I began to ponder of what my action should be at the railing, a voice spoke out to me.

"Are you planning something? Or is it a real coincidence that the six of you became a team?" A robotic voice that belonged to our "beloved" Cayde asked as he walked up to me. I quickly turned to him, calming down as I chuckled at him.

"What, jealous or something?" I spoke sarcastically. He only gave a dry chuckle as he came over to the railing.

"So what if I am?" That drew a laugh from me and him before he spoke again. "Anyway, what's the news on that Leaked Well?" He spoke with pure curiosity. I nodded and gave off a sigh.

"Well, we told you how it worked and everything, and you already know what caused it." I say as I looked up at the peak of the tower.

"Yea, but I want to know what you experienced there." He says as he looked over the city like Kry did earlier.

"Well, the only way I could label what I saw is some kind of time distortion, something that allowed me to see the past of another person." I say as I turn to him. He nodded as he turned to me as well.

"Strange, very strange….but then again...it's the Vault of Glass' power..so it's not that different. Anything else?" He asks, possibly looking for further info on the cave. I tried to think of something that would help him, but I only chuckled.

"Well, Zula and me are not at each other's throats, well, more like she isn't at mine." I spoke with a sarcastic tone, yet the comment seemed to earn an audible gasp from Cayde.

"Wait, so you're telling me that you got Zula, the greatest of all bitches, to not be one to you?!" He spoke loosely to me, this must be a great surprise to him.

"Well yea, I guess I am." I say with an uncomfortable chuckle. He then smiled and pretended to bow.

"I'm believing it is now fitting you have the Helm of Saint 14. I could not get her to be nice to a Titan to save my life." We both share another strong laugh before I spoke up again.

"So, how was Myata and Kry?"

"Oh them? Well, for one, Kry, he's gotten some serious upgrade while he was out." Cayde spoke with a smile.

"What do you mean?" I tilted my head, a quizzical look on my face.

"Well, he'll be able to handle the energy he used back on the moon." He says with a shrug, seeming to act like he doesn't know what Kry did.

"Well that's good, what about Myata?" I ask with a smile.

"Her? Well for one, she didn't pass out when I questioned her, however, she was only able to , give yes or no answers with her head movements." He spoke in an amused tone.

I rolled my eyes with a chuckle. "At least she's improving." He only chuckled as well.

"Yea, now, Zavala and Ikora will most likely be yelling at me when I get back, so, might as well head back before they send another search party." He says with a dry laugh as he starts to walk off. He then turned to me before he did. "Oh, and, good luck, I got glimmer on you and the others surviving." He chuckled with more feeling before walking off.

I chuckled to myself as I decided to walk another way, towards Luxan's lab.

Once getting there, it was obvious that some work had been done. Weapons and gear was scattered around, but what caught my attention was the two, Luxan, and Jarvis, working on a weapon, a rocket launcher of sorts.

"Here's the wrench oh great one!" Jarvis said with a booming announcer voice, holding up a wrench for Luxan, who seemed highly uncomfortable.

"Ah, yes, um...thank you Jarvis." He said with an uncomfortable tone. It seems he doesn't like being made out to be someone on a higher level.

"It was nothing great one." Javis said, I guess trying to be too humble. I'm starting to think Luxan has acquired a twitch to Jarvis' praising. I kept my laughing quiet as I walked up behind my friend.

"Wow, and where did that old pride of yours go Ravish?" I spoke with a smirk on my face. I watched as he flinched at his old nickname that Kry gave him as he turned to me.

"What are you doing here?! You know I hate that name!" He spoke in annoyance.

"Wow, am I embarrassing you?" I asked as I brought my hand to my chest, acting hurt."

"Shut it!" He said with a bit more anger.

"Actually, I think I should talk to Luxan about your current behavior." I spoke with that smirk plastered across my face. He was clearly trying not to nova bomb me in front of his mentor.

"Fine, what do you want?!" He spoke in a hushed yell.

"Just wanted to check in on my friend." I say as my smirk dropped to a normal smile.

He gave a full sigh before speaking. "I'm doing fine, I'm learning a great deal under his guidance. Plus, he said that when I'm ready, he'll teach me an ability that is lost to most other Warlocks." As he talked, he acted more and more like an excited child.

"That's a pretty good apprenticeship then." I spoke with a smile, happy for my friend, but hoping he doesn't start hopping in place. He nodded and turned back to their current work.

"He tells me that this next weapon will be the biggest and best weapon on the battlefield." He says with a wild grin. "Anyway, since you broke me out of my little trance, I need to go grab some things for him from the gunsmith. So, see you around." He said before quickly going to the door, fast enough that I couldn't say bye to him.

Looking back towards Luxan I saw him raise his right hand and snapped his fingers. A bolt of energy streaked outward from his fingertips heading straight for my head. Quickly ducking I saw it strike something behind me. Looking back towards him I saw a grin as he casually said "Sorry about that flies annoy me to no end. I assume you understand."

After a short pause Luxan asked "Hey Drake, could I get a word with you?" as he stood up from his work. I nodded before walking hesitantly over to him.

"Yea, what's up?" I ask as a simple question.

"As much fun as it is to read mission reports I have always found it better to have a live interview. Amongst the papers the story loses its personal touch. So would you mind me asking a few questions?"

I tilted my head for only a moment before responding. "Oh, the Venus mission? Well, what would you like to know?"

"If you haven't noticed I am a man fond of oddities and irregulars. There is always the typical mission data but underneath all those numbers there is something unique about every mission. Whether it be a strange symbol that you glanced at or a peculiar construct there is always something new to learn from. So tell me did you experience any irregularities compared to other missions? Something that you had never seen before?"

Hearing him ask about the mission almost made me feel like I saw something I shouldn't have seen, yet, it's Luxan, I believe I could trust him. "Well for starters, me and Zula were the ones that went into the cave that was labeled the Leaking Well, and well, when I looked at Zula after a….an encounter with an enemy, I saw a strange thing around her, almost like a time interference, that showed me bits and pieces of her past...and her the same for me." I told him as I thought of the things that could be of use.

"You saw the past of another being? With your own eyes? This is truly exciting. Yes of course I'm going to ask him it I don't need you criticizing me!" He yelled off into the air beside him. "Sorry about that trust me he's a lot less cranky when he's hungry. So you saw another's past? Did you see anything that could relate to the vault of glass?"

That sudden outburst surprised me quite a bit, the only way I could think of that being rational is that it was his ghost speaking to him, but the hungry part, I'm not sure. "W-well, there were some symbols on the walls, like this." I then began to scribble down three symbols that I remembered from the walls of the cave on what I hoped to be a scrap piece of paper on the table.

"Genius!" He yelled holding it to the light while jumping from his chair. "Yes this is just what I had been looking for!" He sprinted across the room towards the wall on the other side. It held many pieces of paper pinned to it with lines drawn connecting some to each other. Posting it to one end he started rambling off to himself as if he forgot I was even there.

I couldn't help but find myself more confused from before. Luxan was acting more strange with each passing moment. I walked over to him, still being tempted to tell him something, that I may know what one of the symbols means.

"Perhaps these are some form of conflux of the warping of time? No that would be ridiculous. Or would it? Hades I told you to think of solutions not scold me for brainstorming. Zeus get over it you can't be that hungry that you actually agree with him. At least Poseidon is on my side in this."

Hearing him talking, I then decided against it, turning to leave, I didn't want to know who the other three were. "Uh, see you around, Luxan." I said as I gave a small wave to him.

After leaving Luxan's lab, I began to question what was truly happening within that place. Instead of thinking about it more, I quickly moved back up to the courtyard. To my surprise, it was close to night time. I rubbed my head as I started my way to a place to sleep before Ghost spoke up.

"Wait a minute!" He spoke with urgency.

"Gah! What did I say about suddenly yelling?!" I spoke with pure anger and annoyance.

"I know I know! But look over at the railing…" He spoke softly as he tried to turn my attention away from himself.

I sighed and turned to look, but I could feel my face change to that of confusion. I could see a lone figure there, sitting on the railing by themselves. Out of curiosity, I started to walk toward them. I don't know if they intended it, but their silhouette matched perfectly in the light of the Traveler, it was quite the amazing sight. As I got closer, I saw a familiar armor color on the guardian…

"Raylin?.." I spoke quietly so I didn't spook her to cause her to fall. I succeeded, she slowly turned her head to her side, not truly looking at me as she spoke.

"Oh, Drake...what are you doing here?" She asked me. Her tone was quite hard to figure out.

"Well, I kinda live in the tower now, so, yea." I say with a small chuckle, it even earned a half hearted chuckle from her.

"I guess you're right. I'm starting to think you are spending way too much time with Myata." She said as she looked at me, a warm smile on her face. To be honest, this may be the actual first time I've seen Raylin without a helmet on. I gave a smile back as I walked over to the railing.

"Who knows? May I join you?" I ask as I lean on the railing. She only gave a small shrug before turning back to the traveler. She seemed distant, in a way that I didn't have a clue how to reach her.

"About that day….in Rasputin…" She started saying.

"Don't worry about it...I won't say anything about what happened!" I spoke quickly, believing she was one of those guardians that didn't want her reputation ruined.

She just began to laugh after I was done. "You, are one different guardian." She said during her laugh. I could only chuckle as she slowly calmed down. "My friends would have already made fun of me, yet, you haven't."

I smiled a little embarrassed as I scratched my head. "Well, I guess I was raised differently."

She nodded a bit before sighing. "I guess only a few of us are taught that way." She said as she looked down slightly. I cringed a bit as I watched her expression changed.

"I-I heard about your father from Myata….I'm sorry." I say gently, trying not to push the subject to her.

She nodded a bit and smiled at me. "Thanks...it's odd, when you say it, something feels, different. Maybe it's something about you that is similar to my dad." I couldn't help but smile back after that one.

"Don't worry about it, we all have our pasts in the end." I say with a bit more pride in my voice. She nodded with a small chuckle.

"Yea, and it seems we both have something bad with the Hive." She spoke in a hushed tone. I could feel my arm flinch at the mention of the Rasputin mission. I turned to her.

"W-what happened to you? Why were you afraid of the Hive?"

She gave off one grand sigh before looking down at the city. "Me and an old friend were attacked by them when I was young. Me and him had went out to play in the fields one day….and that's when the Hive striked. I remember how I froze up at the sight, then my friend grabbing my hand, pulling me away…." I knew what had happened, I knew that her story was the same as mine...but, I wanted to confirm it, to hear her side. "...I fell, and I knew I put him in danger, yet...he threw himself in front of me, separating me from them. Then my father came to save us...it was a frightening experience...but the worst part was...my friend's family moved into the city to be away from the fields...it was one of my last days with him." As she spoke, she seemed to grow closer and closer to tears.

I scooted closer as I began to pat her back gently, trying to calm her. "Hey...it's going to be fine" I could hear her holding back the tears, but it seemed she returned with barely any tears shed.

"Thanks Drake...for being a part of my team." She said with a smile. I nodded back with a smile, tempted to say the same. However, something in me was telling me that there was something awkward starting. However, it was a short lived feeling as I felt another slender hand going around my neck.

"Hey there! What are you two doing out here?" Zula asked us as she had her arms around our necks like we were all friends for years. Honestly, I think my heart rate spiked, feeling her arm around my neck again, and not because I liked it. What caught my nose's attention was the smell of alcohol in her breath.

"Zula, are you ok?" Raylin asked her as she looked at me to help.

"Well, for one thing, I'm beginning to think Titans can be cool. I mean, who knew that Shaxx and Saladin could get Zavala to a small party in the Hall." She spoke in a slightly slurred voice.

"A party?" I asked with a tilted head.

"Yea, Cayde organized it." She said with a laugh, a small chuckle from me and Raylin following. "Now come on you two, especially you Drake, you're Titan brothers are waiting!" She said with a strange tone, one that kinda made it seem like there was another reason to why she was bringing me along, however it was a happy tone, so I couldn't openly decline.

I'm not sure as to believe I'm in danger or not, I just have a feeling it's gonna be one hell of a night...


	15. Mars and the Lands of War :Chapter 14

Headache, check. Turning stomach, check. Will to throw up, check. Yea...I got drunk. I can only remember bits and pieces of last night. Something with Shaxx and a mechanical Kell, Ikora and someone named Eris was found by Zavala, a mosh pit that was started by Shaxx and Saladin, then I think Cayde turned the party into something of a rave at the end. I think Kry and Myata made it near the rave part. Then there's what happened to me...god damn…

For one, I woke up in the infirmary, where everyone from the party went to sleep. I woke up as I reached up to my head to try and ease my headache, however, I couldn't lift my arm. I blinked a few times to let my vision clear, first thing in sight was Kry and Myata having their ghosts take pictures of me, and whispering about them.

"Hey….what's going on?" I asked as I yawned. The only thing that came out at first was shushed laughter.

"Man, who knew you were a real player." Kry said with a smirk.

I raised an eyebrow at first as I tried to sit up, however, my arms were held down. I looked to my sides to see what's happening….now I fear for my life. Raylin, was sleeping on my right, holding that arm of mine close, and same thing on my left, with Zula this time. I could feel my face get hot and my eyes widen. I know this wasn't the way I fell asleep.

"W-what happened?!" I quickly asked in a hushed voice, trying not to freak out too badly. Myata chuckled and turned to Kry.

"I think the three of you had some drinks, then Zula asked Drake to dance a bit. Then the rave started, and Raylin came over to dance with him. Then a small cat fight broke out. Then something happened that the three of you were bought here, where you slept together with them. Am I right Kry?" She said with a sly expression.

"Yea, something like that. I swear Drake, you are one dirty guy to have the two of them at once." He said with a smirk.

"Taking the innocence of two girls, you monster." Myata said with a laugh. I swear, I wanted to punch the two of their lights out. However, Myata's laugh got Zula to stir awake.

"What….what's going on? Why are you…." She began to say as her arms tightened around my arm, I guess unknowingly, she spoke as she slowly opened her eyes, her sentence ended as she noticed me. I looked down at her with a face of horror. Everything that happened in the cave, most likely down the drain now. I swear, I thought I was going to die if I made any movement. But as I looked at her, it seemed she wasn't angry at first, surprised? Embarrassed? I'm not sure, but I could see a darker patch of skin on her cheeks. Is that how Awoken blush? Strange. But then she looked to where the two Exos were, now disappeared, before looking at me again.

"This never leaves your mouth! Got it?!" She spoke in an angered tone, whether it was towards me or the Exos, I hoped it was towards them. I nodded quickly before watching her jump out of the bed and after the two. The movement causing Raylin to start to stir awake.

"What's up with all the noise?" She asked as she opened her eyes, kinda shifting in her spot.

"Uh, I think Kry and Myata pulled a prank on me, you, and Zula. She's after them right now." I say with a nervous tone.

She only nodded before closing her eyes again. "Good...let her get those two...I need another hour of sleep."

"Um...but you have my arm still…" I say with a slight chuckle. She seemed to be proving a point or something as she tightened her hold on my arm.

"So what? You get another hour to sleep too then…." She said with a tired laugh.

"Uh, are you ok Raylin?" I ask with a nervous chuckle. However, I was too late, as she had fallen asleep right then and there. I rolled my eyes a bit as I laid back down. I made sure to give enough room to her, wasn't much with her hold on my arm though. I gave a full sigh before looking at the sleeping Raylin. It was a soothing sight to see her in a good way. Yet, I couldn't help to feel hurt that I have so much about me that could make her hate me….I don't even know what to tell her about it all...how can I? I sighed once more before laying my head down, and slowly drifting off….

1 hour and a half later…

Later on, Kry, Myata, and Zula were sent on a mission to Venus to find a distress call. I hope Zula has some "words" with those two. Raylin was asked to help Cayde clean up the hall. So I've got time to myself. Hearing that Luxan was out for the time being, I decided to go check on Jarvis again.

When I walked in, Jarvis was standing next to a large object. It was shaped similar to that of Vex gates, ones that would allow Vex forces to teleport and such. He seemed quite distracted by it as he looked it over a lot.

"Hey Jarvis, whatcha got there?" I ask as I walked over. He didn't flinch this time as he slowly turned to me.

"Luxan brought this in from the storage vaults, he said he wanted to look it over again." He said before turning back to it. I nodded and walked to his side. "And yes, it's a Vex gate."

"I figured...what are you trying to do?" I asked as I looked it over, soon seeing him grab a certain section of it.

"Well, first, I know that this is the power source or the activation switch." He let go with a sigh, looking at other parts of the gate. I watched him for a second before looking back up to the part he grabbed. For an odd reason, it had grabbed my attention, like I knew what to do. I reached over to it and gently grabbed it, then, maybe it was a guess or something else, but I then did a hand gesture against it. Suddenly, a humming sound started, followed by Jarvis jumping straight up.

"W-what did you do?!" He asked frantically as he looked at the now powered gate. I quickly released my grip on the piece and backed up.

"I-I don't know….I just guessed!" The gate was slowly turning on, forming a portal. "What should we do?!"

Jarvis looked at the portal as it finished forming, what looked like red mountains waited on the other end. "I'm not sure…"

Once the portal finished, it released some air to vent itself, causing some dust to be blown off, and what it revealed, was startling. "Drake...isn't that the symbol you showed Luxan?"

There was no mistaking it, it was one of the three symbols that I had remembered, the one I knew slightly. The word for the symbol quickly into my mind as I looked at it. "Sol…." Jarvis looked at me for a moment as he heard me.

"Wait...you know what it means?!" He asked quietly, almost in disbelief. I slowly nodded to him before looking back at the portal.

"Maybe we should take a look?" I suggest to him, waiting for an answer.

He seemed to be at a loss for words, he looked around really quick, possibly to make sure Luxan wasn't around, before answering. "Fine, but let's be quick about it…"

We quickly loaded up, putting our helmets on, and loading our guns. We slowly stepped through, finding us among the dunes of Mars itself. What was happening around us, was the worst part. A hole, I don't know how deep, but one dead in front of us, it was crawling with Vex tech, and Vex machines.

"Uh...give me a minute.." Jarvis said before stepping back to the tower. I was about to yell at him before I heard the screeches of Vex around me. They knew I was here….and if he had a plan, I knew I'd have to defend this portal. I loaded the first bullet into the chamber, and began to fire into the goblins and hobgoblins around me.

Hearing brass meeting other metals, and the Vex hitting the floor, I'm not sure what was a more pleasing sound. My mags were dropping as fast as the goblins were, so I needed Jarvis to hurry. Soon enough, I had to switch to my shotgun, firing at the Vex. It was odd, none of them had a weapon of any sort, like they weren't given one yet, so each one, whether goblin or hobgoblin, were climbing up to me to attack. It didn't help that a Minotaur was climbing up too.

Three shells left, I had fired the three into the Minotaur, killing it quickly. I resorted to punching the rest, but I was slowly being overwhelmed. But before they could, I heard the voice of Jarvis. So I quickly leaped up, and came back down, bringing my fists down as well, blasting the horde down. I turned to the portal, seeing Jarvis there, before he tossed a weapon to me, the rocket launcher from before. It looked finished, now with a metal wolf above it's barrel. I caught it in surprise before looking back at him.

"Fire that at the bottom, now!" He yelled at me. I nodded and quickly shouldered the weapon, and turned back to the hole. I took aim and pulled the trigger twice, firing two rockets down the hole. The Vex all turned their heads to watch as the rockets flew by. As they watched, they seemed to be in some kind of trance. However, their gaze stopped once explosions were heard. The rockets exploded into other shells, and by shells, I meant other rockets, not cluster bombs. These shells then targeted high priority targets, causing the whole hole to catch on and begin exploding. The Vex on the walls then began to quickly try and climb out, but their screeches of death were the only things to be heard as they were engulfed by the flames. The flames grew up to the top, almost ready to reach me, then a hand grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back through the portal. It then closed up behind me, it quickly moved until it seemed to be locked.

"What the hell….was that?" I ask as I caught my breath, not having the energy to turn to Jarvis.

"A Vex Time Gate." Raylin's voice spoke up from behind me. Hearing her somehow threw some energy back into me, causing me to leap up to my feet and turn to her.

"Raylin?! What are you doing here?" I asked quickly, confused as to why she was here.

"Why wouldn't I know when one of my father's captured devises is active?" She says plainly as she walks past me to the gate.

"Your father?...he captured this?" Jarvis asked, he was standing off to the side, possibly pushed out of the way by Raylin.

She only nodded before shooting me a gaze. "I need a word with you…" As she said this in a serious tone, I could only gulp.

Half an hour later….

"...My father could only open that gate for moments at a time, so how can you open it, and just simply walk through?!" Raylin asked me, quite assertively. We were now standing where the Iron Banner would be held, we were alone, no other guardian in sight.

"I-I don't know! I told you five times already!" I say loudly, somewhat annoyed about how she was pressing the matter. She seemed quite angry with me about this, surprisingly not about this morning.

"Fine! But what did you see?!" She asked as she walked up to me, the little carvings on the ground that were filled with water seemed to tremble as well.

I took a full sigh to calm myself before speaking. "I saw a barren Mars, and a hole that the Vex were climbing out of…." It seemed to calm her a bit, she must be trusting me now.

"Then you saw the first….the Primeval.." She said as she bit her lip, seeming to begin thinking. However, once she said the word, I knew what it was…

"The beginning…" I said, I couldn't stop the words from leaving my mouth. It caused her to look at me.

"How did you know what it meant?" She asked, getting pretty close. I wasn't sure if she was doing it to intimidate me or something else, but it just felt awkward to me. Now, as I think of how I knew any of this stuff, my dream from before, being in the vault, it struck me again. Could Kabr be feeding info to me somehow….insight of the Vex? But I still couldn't tell her...not yet.

"I-I read it somewhere when I was young…" I knew that excuse was terrible one, and I knew it was gonna raise her suspicion. I needed to change the subject…

She seemed to start a silent argument with herself as she looked away. I didn't want her to continue with this, so I quickly grabbed her hand, earning a shocked look on her face. "Drake?! What are you doing?!" She asked, almost ready to stab me, I'm sure. I quickly opened my mouth to speak.

"I'm that friend of yours...the one from years ago!" I said quickly, for a moment, that caused her to pause, but she quickly grew annoyed.

"That's not possible.." She said with annoyance. I took a breath before speaking again.

"We went out to play with that ball my father gave us….it was spray painted to look like the Traveler.." I say with caution. That's what seemed to get to her. I knew that ball, we had gotten it that exact day….and I was the one to spray paint it. Only her, my father, and me knew about the ball. She was almost in shock, she was trying to piece it together, if I knew, I was either my dad...or it was me.

"What's...your last name?" She asked slowly, she almost seemed on the edge, her pale face was proof of that.

"Roland...my name is Drake Roland…" I say with a hush. I tended not to use my last name, mostly because people confused it with my first name. However, it had the opposite effect on Raylin. Her face was changing from pale to red...I waited for her judgement. I even got so scared she didn't believe me that I lowered my head.

What caught me off guard first, was the few moments before she did anything, second, was her sudden movement, I mean, she's way too quick. Third...was when she stopped moving, I heard her crying on my shoulder as she held me in a hug with her arms around my neck. I could feel my face heating up, along with my body tensing up.

"Drake….why would you hide that from me?...I've been waiting so long for my friend to come back…" She said in her hushed voice. I didn't know what to do for the first minute, but I melted away from my tenseness, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"I'm sorry….I just felt like that you would hate me if I just walked up and told you.." I said truthfully. She gave a small chuckle before backing up and looking at me, tears in her eyes, and a smile on her face.

"I think you should have told me sooner, I was so worried about you back then….you have no idea." She said as she rubbed her tears away.

"Sorry still, if only I didn't move…" I say with a slight smile. She nodded a bit and looked down, right before looking back up at me.

"I'm just glad you're back….even if you were hiding." She laughs a bit. While she did laugh, I could truly connect her to the girl I knew back then. I couldn't help but smile at her.

15 minutes later….

We were back in the lab, Jarvis was pacing back and forth, thinking of what to do. Me and Raylin were watching him as he did. Raylin seemed far more relaxed...maybe a bit too much, she was almost shoulder to shoulder with me.

"Alright...until I figure this out...we don't speak of this, to anyone. Alright?" Jarvis says as he rubbed his blue and tired face. Me and Raylin both nodded as he sat down with a heavy sigh.

"I never knew such a war zone could look like as a barren wasteland…" I say as I recalled the sights of Mars.

"It changed in so little time...and slowly fell into chaos." Raylin says as she crossed her arms. I nodded to her before Jarvis started to wave us off.

"Just go...I got this." He said with a strained smile. It seemed we both were ready to complain, but we couldn't argue. We ended up walking out of the lab, up to the railing of the tower. I'm starting to think this is the spot to hang out now. Raylin quickly got a message from Zula, saying that the two were taken care of, and that she recovered the evidence from last night, oh, and that they were heading back now.

"Evidence? She means the blackmail photos right?" I ask with a laugh. I could see her laughing a bit as well.

"I kinda hope so, Zula definitely doesn't need pictures of herself like that out there, and I'm just worried about the one from this morning, that would…." Her face slowly went from a laughing matter, to that of thought. Then almost all at once, her face grew red, she looked at me, then immediately started to run off. At first, I was concerned about what just happened, enough to call out to her...but I realized that the embarrassment must've gotten to her. Realizing that she had slept in the same bed as her childhood friend must've been really embarrassing to her. I kinda chuckled a bit as she ran off.

A few minutes later….

Myata and Kry flown over before landing on the ground. It was obvious they were laughing. I was glad they were the best of friends now, but they are evil. I gave a grin as I walked over.

"What's so funny guys?" I ask them. Kry visibly flinches, however, Myata just keeps laughing as she turns to me.

"It looks like you may have a fan." She says within her laugh. They both then quickly run off. I was confused by what they meant. Then Zula landed, she seemed to be holding something. I smiled and ran over.

"Hey Zula, what do you got?" I ask her with a happy tone. However, she quickly put away the object, and looked away slightly from me.

"I-it's not like it concerns you." Her voice seemed to be forced annoyance, but I could see something of a blush on her face.

"Uh, ok?" I say with an eyebrow raised. She then quickly ran off too. What's up with everyone today?! They are either tired, annoyed, evil, or somehow embarrassed!

I sighed as I looked back to the city, and as if on cue, I got a message. It said that someone had something to give me, and that they'd like to see me again...that someone, is my father….


	16. What We Fight For (Debatable):Chapter 15

"Alright...what does my dad need?.." I ask myself mostly, trying to think why he called me.

"How should I know kid?! Stop asking me!" Myata said with a laugh. Yes, I brought her along. I thought she was the best of my friends to come along, plus, I don't think she has anymore pictures of me, so I'm safe. We were down in the Last City. It was almost nostalgic as we walked amongst the people, it was also refreshing to be dressed as another normal person, no armor, just normal clothes. I rolled my eyes at her response and looked at her.

"Oh, and I was just going to thank you for coming with me too." I say with a smirk. She just rolls her eyes right back at me.

"You're welcome you brat." She says with a chuckle. I nod and chuckle as well as we kept walking. After a bit, I could see my dad's shop down the path, but before we continued, Myata spoke up. "We are being followed." She says as she looked behind us. I tilted my head a bit as I looked over to where she was looking, not seeing anyone suspicious.

"Who?" I ask as I kept looking. I could clearly hear that she held back a chuckle.

"I'm not sure." She says, with a suspicious smile. I tilt my head in confusion, but shrug it off as we keep walking. As we walked up to the building, it was clear it was too early for my family to be awake.

"The upstairs lights aren't even on." I say with a chuckle. I then feel Myata's hand grab my shoulder. I jump a bit in surprise but quickly hear her whisper.

"Play along…" She says mischievously. I gulp a bit as I wait for what I need to play along with. "Awww, looks like you can't introduce me to your parents yet." She says with a tone of voice that made me somewhat uncomfortable. I don't know why she told me to play along, I was going to introduce her as a friend, not as what she's playing as.

"I-I guess we have to wait a bit…" I say unnerved. I don't know why, but I'm sensing murderous intent suddenly.

"Oh that's too bad, what will we do while we wait?" She asks with the same tone, only a lot more deeper with fakeness. Then, almost in a flash of a blade dancer, well...more like two blade dancers, in comes Raylin and Zula, closing in for the kill on Myata.

"You little bit-" they both start yelling at Myata for what she was saying, but quickly freeze as the two see each other.

"Wait! Zula? Raylin? You were the two that were following us?!" I ask quickly. I could see that the two didn't know that the other was following us as well, and that they realized their covers blown. Then, before anything could be answered, I heard a door open behind me, followed by a loud voice.

"My son returns! And with an entourage! That's my boy!" My father says with his booming voice, coming over to bear hug me.

"Dad! For the love of light, let me go!" I say as I try to squirm. He only chuckles and let's go.

"My my, son, what have you been doing besides your duty?" He asks with a sly smile.

"Well, since you ask, the other day, your son-" Myata starts to speak about yesterday morning before Raylin and Zula tackle her to the ground. I turn and sigh at the three before I could hear my father whisper to me.

"So these three are yours?" He says with a smirk. I could feel my face burn a bit before I calm down.

"Dad, these are my teammates, Raylin, Zula, and Myata." I say as I point to each. He nods and watches as they keep fighting.

"One, you got one from each race? Second, do they always fight over you?" He asks with his arms crossed, a smirk still plastered across his face. I rolled my eyes as he walked back inside, waving us in.

"Guys, come on in." I say with a sigh, watching the three of them stand up and dust themselves off. Thank god Raylin and Zula wore normal clothes.

Once we entered the house, it wasn't much to brag about, it was enough. Dad was sitting in his usual chair, drinking a glass of either juice, or some alcohol, it would make sense for his behavior. I sat on the couch with a sigh, it didn't really help that Zula and Raylin sat on either side of me. Myata just sat in a chair to the side.

"If I knew my son would be bringing such lovely ladies here, I would have cleaned up better, sorry about the mess." He says with a chuckle. Raylin was the one to speak up first.

"I-it's no problem, no need to worry." She says, seeming to be a bit nervous. To be honest, I think I understand why Raylin is here, but Zula, why the hell is she here?!

"I don't think I got your three names." Dad says with a polite smile. I rolled my eyes as I knew I just told him.

"Well I'm Myata. A "close" friend of Drake here." She says in that old tone of hers. Why do I feel like punching Exos a lot nowadays? I think you all know. It seemed that Raylin took that as a challenge of some kind, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I-I'm Raylin, it's nice to meet you sir." She says with pressured courage. I felt a bit uncomfortable as her hand held my shoulder. Then what drove it home was Zula grabbing ahold of my arm and pulling me closer before speaking.

"I'm Zula, a new friend of Drake." She says quite proudly, however, it showed in her face that she was trying not to blow up in embarrassment. My dad smirked a bit as the two struggled to hold me close. Ok ok, either they are doing some twisted bet, they are trying to prove something, or, the minuscule chance that they both like me. Either way, I'm freaking out.

"I'd have to guess that my son has treated the three of you with care and respect." He said before taking a swig. The three of them nodded before Zula spoke.

"That's the reason why I'm friends with him now, he's the only Titan that has done so." She says with a smile as she held my arm to keep me from being pulled away by Raylin who had my other arm.

"Damn, you left them wanting more Drake." Myata says with a laugh. I blush deeply as I looked at the two of them, they also seemed to get embarrassed since they let go and looked away, each of them blushing.

"What?! What did Drake do?!" A voice of a female is heard outside the front door, causing everyone else to pause and look at the door. It then slowly opened, allowing none other than my mother to walk in with groceries. I gulp a bit as she looked over me and the girls.

"Hun, who are these girls with our son?" She asked calmly, but I could sense the anger under her tone. My father then stood up to walk over to her.

"These are Drake's teammates. There's no need to worry." He says to calm her. But however, there's no stopping her.

"Can I speak to Drake privately please?" She asks, keeping her tone calm. I gulp and nodded before getting up and walking over to my mom, who was heading for the kitchen. She quickly shut the door behind me and looked at me. "Why are you bringing women into our home young man?" I gave a hefty sigh before speaking to her.

"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore, and these girls are just friends. I've already risked my life with them out on missions." I say with a calm smile. My mom on the other hand, was trying to think if I had any hidden meanings.

"And you swear you won't touch them in any way?" She asked with a stern voice and look. I was tempted to joke and say "Why would I do that when they touch me?" But I digress.

"I promise mom." I say with a sigh, like a young child.

"And if you ever get any funny feelings or ideas, you can talk to me about them so you do-" she said before I interrupted.

"Mom, if I have feelings for someone, I can handle it! Trust me!" I say to calm her. She flinched a big at my outburst, but nodded with a sigh of her own.

"Alright, fine, just nothing over the top." I nod and smile a bit before turning to go back to the room, but I'm stopped by my dad before the doorway.

"Oh son, before you get back to the clinging girls there, how about I give you what I asked you to come get?" He says with a grin. I nodded and chuckled.

"Yea, that may be a good idea." I say with a smile as I began to follow him to a closet. It was a closet that my father always kept closed. He never told me what was in it, until now...without saying a word, he opened it up to reveal gear for a Titan. They were meant for high level Titans too, a chest piece, gauntlets, and some boots. And to top it off, an auto rifle that seemed to almost glow with power.

"Here son….this is the last thing I can give you for the future." He says with an almost depressed tone. He first handed the armor to me. They were some strong stuff, definitely compared to my current gear. I had Ghost take them before he handed me the auto rifle. "A gun fit for a slayer of the darkness. Atheon's Epilogue." He said as I held the rifle in my hands. This...I felt some strange connection with this gun...almost as if… "I got that from a guardian that got that from outside the Vault of Glass." He said with a smile.

Could it be that this is one of the rumored guns of the Vault?! "T-thanks dad…" I say with a nervous smile.

"My son, you are gonna make it to whatever the end of your legend is, and I know it's gonna be great." He says as he pulled me into a hug. I chuckled a bit and let the hug last before letting Ghost take the gun. He then nodded to me as I started to head back to the living room, but before I enter, I could hear my mom asking the girls something.

"So, what do you three see in my son?" She asked calmly, watching the three.

"Well, he's a cool guy, and he can be thoughtful. I'm not interested in him, but he's a good man." Myata says with a chuckle.

Zula spoke up with a smile, whether it was forced or not, I'm not sure. "Well, he's the first ever Titan to gain my favor, so there's that. And well, now that I'm seeing him as an equal, he's quite a….um…" She stutteres to find the word she was using as a noticeable blush formed on her cheeks. "Thoughtful person."

Then Raylin, possibly not thinking straight or something, suddenly talked. "I'm just happy I got my childhood friend back...I missed him so much when he moved…" She said with a small tone. That got the other two's attention quickly, causing them to look at her, then quickly search and find me with their gazes. I probably should've ran.

15 minutes later…

"...And I'm hearing about this now?!" Myata yells at me as we had finally left my old home behind us. I sigh and nod.

"Sorry, I didn't think to tell you when I put two and two together." I say with a sigh, Raylin was at my side, seeming to be debating if she should hold my arm. Zula was walking behind us, maybe that thing between me and Raylin made her think she had no chance with me or something. I just don't want anyone holding a knife at my throat.

"Well that would have been something nice to know." Myata says with a growl. I sigh and look down to think. This trip has hit a bump everywhere there could have been a bump. Myata just seems annoyed with me, Raylin is acting all shy, and Zula just seems flat out upset. Just fantastic. I felt I had to do something to make up for the situation, but what?

Maybe if I treat them to a day of being normal civilians for a day...hmm, I'm not sure….buts it's worth a shot.

"Alright...I'm sorry guys, and to show that I am, how about we go do something, whatever it is, I'll pay." I say with a sigh. I now expect a large decrease in my glimmer. I saw the three of them stopped and look at me. They seemed to be confused. "A movie, or shopping, or whatever, anything you girls want to do?" I saw Myata smile a bit and chuckle.

"Well, I guess I can't deny you the chance to say sorry." She says as she crosses her arms. Raylin seemed to brighten up as well, she thinks for a second before speaking.

"How about some shopping around?" She asked with a smile. Then, from the back of the group, Zula spoke quickly and hushed.

"Movie!" She said nervously. The two of them looked at her before chuckling, Zula joining with them. Now this was a scene I liked, my friends smiling and having fun.

The rest of the day was that of civilian life. It was like we were normal people, doing normal things with each other for fun. The shopping was torture to me, I hate shopping, and Myata seemed the same way. The other two looked through so many shops, it was tiring. Then later on, we made it to the movies, it being a horror movie, it wasn't that scary actually. I guess that's what happened when you fight stuff like that everyday. Myata fell asleep near the beginning. Raylin was entangled by the movie, possibly forgetting our reality with it. But Zula, she seemed to still be in reality. Most of the movie was quite normal. One jumpscare did get to most of the crowd, including Zula, who jumped quite a bit, grabbing my arm in the process. At first, she slowly let go and sighed.

"Sorry...I'll stop that…" She says with her head down. I sigh and smile at her, moving my arm over to her.

"Go ahead, I don't mind." I say with a gentle smile. She looked up at me with a confused look before slowly getting my arm in hers again. She was smiling again, and I was glad, then she said something to me that caught me off guard.

"Maybe I was truly wrong about Titans...especially you." She says with a smile as she held my arm. I blushed slightly, but let it end at that. We watched the movie, allowing it to pass through until it ended. We left the theater and started our walk to the tower. It was getting to be a quite night. We made it back up to the tower before we knew it. Myata and Raylin went to sleep quite quickly, and me and Zula were left alone. Before, I would be scared, but now, I think I enjoy her company like I do the others. We were walking up the stairs to the platform set above the courtyard.

"It's quite a day today huh?" I say with a chuckle, leaning over the railing. She chuckled and nodded a bit.

"Yea, I think you got the worst of it…" She says with a small snicker. I rolled my eyes a bit as I looked over the slowly emptying courtyard. "Um...Drake...can I show you something?" Zula asked suddenly. I looked up to her and nodded slowly before she pulled out her ghost, allowing it to project an image.

If I remembered correctly, it was that party a couple days ago. It was from someone else's viewpoint, possibly Myata or Kry. But it then zoomed in on me in the image. Zula approached me in the image as I was getting another drink…

That night of the party…

I already feel a bit off, great. I think to myself as I finish my next drink. I then felt someone tap my shoulder from behind. I quickly turned to see Zula there, she was already blushing from the amount of alcohol she had consumed, but she seemed to be blushing more than before.

"Uh, Drake...could I ask..a favor?" She said shyly, her hands holding themselves below her waist. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, but nod with a smile.

"Sure, go ahead." I say politely as she took a breath.

"C-could you dance with me?" She asks slowly, looking up at me as slowly as she spoke. I couldn't help but blush some at her request, but I decided it may be a good thing with our new friendship.

"Uh, sure, maybe it will be nice." I say with a small chuckle, she then nods off to the side, a slow song picking up. Wait, a slow song?! I could feel my face heating up, and not from the drinks. I gulped a bit as I could see that Zula was nervous. Hell, she was probably still so nervous, and maybe, just maybe if it was really for the reason that she liked me, maybe getting drunk was helping her. I could see her biting her lip too, what the hell did I agree to?!

"T-then can we dance to this?" She asks quietly, just loud enough for me to hear. I gulped slowly before answering.

"S-sure, why not?" I say with a nervous smile. I could hear the both of us take a deep breath before slowly getting closer together. It was nerve racking for me, a girl, that a few days ago or something...that had a knife to my neck, I'm now slow dancing with that exact girl in my arms, and her arms around my neck. I was scared, hoping she didn't have a hidden knife, but yet...it was almost...pleasant to be dancing with her. As the dance went on, I remember that she laid her head on my chest for most of it, it was strange….then near the end, she lifted her head up to look at me, possibly even in my eyes. I wasn't sure what to do, I was drawing a blank, but before anything happened, Myata jumped up next to us.

"Hey love birds, you two getting together or something?" She asks with a smirk. I blushed deeply, along with Zula. Myata seems to get the message before walking off.

"W-well, thank you Drake...that was nice." Zula says with a smile. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Yea, that was nice.." I admit with a chuckle, suddenly the music turned into that of rave music.

…

Zula closed the projection as she turned to me, both of us were blushing.

"I showed you this….because I wanted to thank you Drake…" Zula said before taking a deep breath.

I scratch my neck softly as I looked at her. "Why though?" I ask, a bit embarrassed. She only smiled and walked up next to me.

"Because, in my moment of weakness...you didn't do anything shady...you were a gentlemen, and a good friend…" She says before giving a small laugh. "I think you are earning more than just my favor." She says, her face showing a slight blush.

"W-well, I guess you're welcome then." I say with a chuckle. She nods and smiles a bit before patting my shoulder.

"Please just don't tell any other Titans about this, I'd rather keep this in our group." She says with a nervous tone. I nodded slowly and turned to look at her.

"I swear I won't tell." I say with a small bow. That earned a bow from her as well.

"Thank you, now goodnight, Drake The Legionful." She said with a bright smile before turning to walk off. That nickname caught me off guard. A while ago, among the community, the legend of Kabr, became the legend of Kabr the Legionless, because all that was left of him, was recordings that showed he had forgotten his team as they were erased one by one...and now, her giving me this nickname...she must believe that I could do something that not even Kabr could accomplish. She is truly showing me respect...and now my team, is truly a team. Tomorrow, or whatever day onward...we can be a team, fighting the hordes of darkness.


	17. A Challenge of Grand Light :Chapter 16

The next morning, I woke up without any of my teammates in the area. It was quite strange to say the least. I got up and stretched a bit, having Ghost give me my new armor. It was quite a great fit too, dad has his ways anyway. I then got myself stretched a bit for the day and headed up the stairs. But as I got to the courtyard, I could hear yelling and shouts of many people. When everything came into view, I could see on one side there were a group of six guardians, each of different race and/or class, yelling and threatening the opposite group….that group being Raylin, Myata, and Zula...mostly Zula though.

"We'd rip you apart in the Crucible! Limb by limb!" Zula says filled with rage, to be completely honest, I like the Zula from last night. I think I'll thank the Light that she isn't aiming that rage towards me later.

"Oh shut it you blue bit-" One of the guys in the other group began to say, before receiving a gut punch from Myata.

"No one insults my teammates." She says with a low growl in her voice. I was almost shocked to see this happening, but then I feel someone grab my shoulder.

"Drake, whatever you do, don't intervene." Kry says to me as I turn to him.

"Kry, what's the hell is going on?!" I ask, wanting answers.

"A small Crucible clan, known as The Jade Warriors are challenging them….or, at least that's their plan." Jarvis says as he walked up to us. I was confused, looking back at the groups.

"You three can't even get three other teammates, let alone some guys that could tolerate you!" One of the girls of the other group yelled over. At the end of that sentence, I could see the three of them flinch slightly, and I could sense that me, Kry, and Jarvis did the same. Oh man, they really going there?!

"Did they really just say that?!" I hear Kry say, I believe anger filling his voice. I could sense Jarvis was about to tell us to stop, but before he could, me and Kry were already walking out to join the girls, I also heard him sigh before following us. The group seemed really confident with that threat, but they faltered slightly when me and my group get between them.

"Who are these weak guardians?" One of the men in the group asked in an angered tone, pointing at me and Kry. I nodded to Kry before looking back at the group. In a quick movement, Kry grabbed his hand, twisting it in ways that shouldn't be possible, bringing a yell of pain from the man. I even grinned a bit at it. Hell, I'll add a bit of my dad I to this.

"So, why are the six of you little shits doing to our lovely friends here?" I ask with a grin across my face. I already sensed Jarvis was face palming behind me. But me and Kry were doing this to help. I could sense the confusion from the girls, probably wondering why we are doing this. Kry then let go of the man's hand as another walked up to us, possibly the leader.

"Oh, we got some heroes here huh?" He said as he cracked his knuckles. He was a bit intimidating, but me and Kry could only smirk.

"And your point is lazy boy? Did the three girls you got get off your lap finally?" Kry asks with a snicker. I could hear the crowd around us gasp a bit. They were probably like "Who are these guys? And why are they putting themselves in danger?" Or something of that matter. I heard the girls even gasp a bit too. I don't know if we are insane, but screw it. The guy growled a bit and crosses his arms.

"So, looks like you three are able to tolerate these bitches?" He asks with a grin, looking over to the three. "Tell me, how did you get them to their knees?" He asks right after with a grin. Now...I swear, I didn't even feel my body move...I didn't even know I could move so quickly, before I knew it, my electrified fist was in front of his face, earning a collective gasp, and the air pressure of the swing causing the man's hair to flow in the wind for a second. I could even feel the electricity in my tone.

"DON'T. EVER. SPEAK ABOUT THEM LIKE THAT. AGAIN!" I said, anger, no, hatred, was in my voice, with possibly some sparks of arc energy. This new found anger, I was surprise I could be this angry. My team behind me seemed shocked by my anger, but I could see Myata looking toward my arm, I believe examining it to see how I was able to meet that speed to break the sound barrier. The man blinked his eyes a bit, being stunned for a second before speaking.

"That speed….." He then shook the shock off. "Fine, we challenge the six of you to a match! And an official match, where the winner wins something from the loser." He said with a growl. Zula then pushed past the others next to me.

"You're on! And we will show no mercy to the likes of you!" She said, anger steaming from her tone and face. I still had some steam left in me to this conversation.

"I'll make sure that you six will never enter the crucible again." I say with a growl, that was returned by the man. After this, the six of them walked off, leaving the six of us to recover from that.

"They wonder about us on our knees, maybe we should put them on theirs." Myata said as she cracked her knuckles. I think the rest of us wanted a fight now...well besides Jarvis, who was trying not to yell in anger at us dragging him into this. Zula then tapped my shoulder, having me look at her.

"Hey, why you stealing my lines of intimidation now?!" She said with an angry tone, but I could see it on her face and in her tone that she was joking. I grin and shrug.

"Honestly, I just winged the whole thing." I say with a small chuckle. Zula gave one as well as Raylin walked over to me.

"Uh, are you ok after that Drake?" She asked in a worried tone. I couldn't help but tilt my head in confusion.

"What do you mean Raylin?" I asked with a smile.

"You almost lost it...I've never seen you that angry…"

"Oh yea, what was that grand anger?" Zula asks with true curiosity. I chuckled nervously for a bit before answering.

"W-well, I don't like it when people threaten my friends." I say with a smile. As they were talking to me, I could overhear some of Kry and Myata talking.

"So, you really gonna do this?" She asks with a small amount of sass to it. Kry chuckled and stretched his robotic arms a bit.

"Someone's gotta show that bag of shit who they're messing with." He said with a grin. Myata even chuckled a bit.

"You gotta show me that hold you had on that guy's hand. I could use that." Myata said with a smile.

"Sure, I'll show you later. Just don't go crazy with it." He said with a laugh. Now back to me, the two girls were asking me some questions about what I was doing. But then Jarvis walked up to me.

"What I'm really worried about is the speed of your swing, Drake." He said with his arms crossed. That is true, the speed of my swing was almost that of lightning, it may have even scared me if I wasn't in the heat of the moment.

"I'm not sure...but I don't care why my fist is that fast...all I know is that it will help, and if it helps, then that means closer to that guy's beat down." I say as I clench my fist. He nodded slowly to me, his eyes closed, then let out a loud sigh.

"Fine...FINE...I'll help!" He said with an exhausted tone, pushing my shoulder a bit. "But only because Kry, and YOU are doing this together." He says with a smile. Kry walked over to us with a chuckle before Myata asked us three a question.

"What experience do the three of you have in the crucible?" She asks with a serious tone. The three of us turned to her, falling silent.

"Well, I'd say I'm decent.." Jarvis says with an embarrassed tone.

"I haven't even entered it yet…" I say as I rub my neck, with the same tone.

"I uh….um...ranked third in Iron Banner last time it was here." Kry said in a hushed voice. But that didn't stop us all from turning to look at him, wide eyed.

"W-what did you say?" Was a small summary of what we all asked. He chuckled nervously and rubbed his knuckles.

"I...am high ranking in the crucible….and well, I'm actually not a low level either...if that helps you all believe me." He says with a chuckle.

The rest of us looked at each other before looking back at him, mentally asking for proof. He sighed and pulled out his ghost.

"Show them...now." He says with a small tone, having his ghost swap out his armor. After it finished, his armor not only changed, but it's color, it was clear that his armor was high level...and the entirety of his gear was the color white...almost cold just to look at.

"Kry….why did you hide your level from us?" Jarvis asked with an eyebrow raised. He must be the one that is most confused, knowing Kry for that long. Kry just sighed and looked down.

"Before I met you Jarvis…I was proud to be a high level guardian...everyone looked up to me, treated me with respect...but the missions kept piling up...not allowing me to live a life besides just missions….so I hid, I went into hiding. Cayde helped me do that...allowing me to hide in the lower ranks….that's how I met you all, one by one...and I purposely hid my full strength to not arouse suspicion to me….but at the moon...that was the first time I used my full power, in a long time." He spoke this story of his life with truth, it wasn't hard to miss that about it. Jarvis though, was looking down.

"We are best friends...and you didn't once tell me this...at all…" Jarvis said with sadness and betrayal in his voice.

"Well I mean, I can't blame the guy, he's right about the mission thing, until us three met Drake. We were always constantly on missions, they get boring and annoying after a while. "Go shoot this, go collect that!" It's nice to have a break, and clearly he needed to catch one. However I do agree that he shouldn't had hid it from us for as long as he did...but at least he's finally telling us now instead of later." Myata walked over to Kry, standing by his side, Zula and Raylin both slightly nodding in agreement with the statement on the missions.

I couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed now that I was being told that I was the reason why their lives changed, but I digress. Kry was a bit surprised to see the girls take his side of this. He then turned to Jarvis with a small smile.

"I hid it from you at first...because I didn't know who I could trust with this knowledge...but I kept hiding it...because I was afraid that you...or any of you would have looked at me differently." He said with a low tone. Jarvis looked to the side, thinking it over for a moment.

"I was wrong about you Kry…." Jarvis began with his arms still crossed. It was clear in Kry's eyes that just that was enough to sadden him. "...You aren't a bucket of bolts…..you're a shiny bucket of bolts." Jarvis said with a tiny hint of a laugh in his voice. That got Kry to almost brighten up as he looked up at Jarvis.

"I'm not sure whether or not that is a complement...but thank you Ravish." Kry said with a small smirk. I could see him flinch a bit at his nickname, but shook it off.

"No problem…" He said with a shiver of hatred for the nickname.

Zula then walked to the head of our group and smiled. "Alright guys, enough of your brotherly love. Let's get training!" It was almost enough to get us all to cheer. We were wanting to get ready for this fight.

Half an hour later, at the Twilight Gap….

"Alright you three, today, we start a regular practice that we will be doing every other day till that match. We start the crucible, the six of us as a team! You got it?!" Zula asked me and the guys. We each nodded quickly. Is Zula a professional drill sergeant or something?!

"We have one match today, so get ready." They say as they put on their helmets and loaded their guns. We followed their example as Shaxx's voice came on the intercom.

Only seconds later after hearing Shaxx's voice, everyone took off. I could've sworn hearing something about working as a team, but I guess that comes later or something. I followed close behind Kry, who from based off recent events I figured I could learn a thing or two from. I watched him lift and aim his gun shooting a warlock on the other team down. Kry looked at me and then face palmed groaning a bit.

"Look it's easy, just pretend that the opposite are like the Hive or Fallen, and kick their asses, don't worry about hurting them. The ghosts will bring them back within a limited time." Kry spoke. I simply nodded and ran off, figuring he wanted to be left alone to get his own kills. From there is got easier to handle, within seconds of separating from Kry I managed to knock another Hunter ..more disintegrate, seeing their ghost hover above them to revive them however made me more comfortable about fighting like this. I could get the hang of this. And honestly I did.

Running around shooting guardians down, I ran past Myata and Raylin. Myata was dodging another Bladedancers knife attacks. It was quite impressive with the minimum effort she was putting in it. Myata nodded to Raylin who was hidden as Raylin pulled out her Golden gun headshotting the Bladedancer after its super charge disappeared. A titan soon however came down and pounded his fist against the ground, both hunters disinterested and their ghosts showed up, I felt my stomach drop at the sight and growled. Shooting at the tian as he began to shoot back at me. However he was the one who dropped first, thanks to Zula anyways who had witnessed Raylin and Myata get killed and had tackled the titan. I quickly escaped the scene before her titan hating rage could affect me.

I ran and ran shooting down guardians who were looking away from me, I jumped a bit however when another titan dropped in front of me. I could just feel the sly smirk they were giving me as the helmet practically glared at me. They swung at my fist towards me, I, on instinct held my arm up blocking their punch. I swung my fist back and felt as the titan picked me up and threw me in a way to dodged my fist. As I hit the ground I lifted my gun and began shooting towards them. They willingly took the hit as they ran towards me and swung their fist again. I flinched, not wanting to feel my first feeling of death, however.

"HADUKEN" I heard being shout. I looked up along with the other titan. The Titan panicked and tried to for. Their bubble shield, but as it began to form it was quickly shattered by Jarvis's void blast. I stood up again.

"Really? Your such a nerd!" I laugh a bit. Jarvis chuckled back.

"A really cool nerd" he spoke out as he turned beside him and punched another warlock, disintegrating them. Shaxx spoke out again, saying the match was over and upon listening, he congratulated our team for winning. What scared me however was that the score was so close. The thought that we could've lost if Jarvis hadn't saved me, made me appreciate of him.

We slowly fallback together on our end of the area. Me and the guys laugh and high five one another, the girls entering with slow clapping.

"Not bad for the first match." Raylin said with an upbeat tone. The three of us smile and turn to the girls with pride.

"A little extra work and we could take on Saladin and his team in the future." Zula said with an excited tone, probably imagining that match.

"It was a bit sloppy, but we will work on it." Myata said with a nod. The three of us nodded.

"So are we good?" Jarvis asked unsure.

"You three are acceptable additions to the crucible, and our team." The three of them say with smiles. Me and the guys just cheer a bit for our victory, both on the field of battle, and for gaining their respect.

Later at the Tower…

"...So Drake, can you tell me how your fist was that fast?" Myata asked me in a curious tone. She brought me away from the group to the hangar to ask me about it, I guess it just bugged her.

"To tell the truth, I didn't know I could swing at the speed I did. It surprised me." I say as I walk over to the railing. She gave a small robotic sigh before leaning against the railing herself.

"I'm surprised a newish guardian like you can reach that kind of melee speed." She says with a small chuckle. "It's very strange too that a Titan has as much speed in melee as me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask with an eyebrow raised, wondering if I was being insulted.

"Not like that, I mean that, due to their armor, Titans tend to move in a slower range of speed, however, you're speed shows that you are able to avoid that restriction." She explains. "Oh, and nice armor by the way. Where did you get it?" She says as she crosses her arms.

I roll my eyes a bit at the first statement. "I got the armor from my dad, said it was a gift to me." I say with a chuckle. She simply nodded and looked out to the ships below the platform.

"I have a feeling that those six don't stand a chance." She said with a snicker. I couldn't help but do the same. "Oh, and thanks for sticking up for us. You and Kry almost looked heroic there." She said with a laugh. "Almost." I roll my eyes once again and smile.

"Well you're welcome, couldn't help but notice that you damsels were in distress." I say with a smirk. She chuckled slightly and looked at me.

"Well played….well played." She says, patting my shoulder. She then slowly slipped away, leaving me at the railing to think. I couldn't help but think of how grateful I was to be a guardian, being able to experience this for myself. I kept thinking about this before I could hear my name being called.

"Drake, Drake the Titan!" I hear off to the left of me. I tilted my head as I turned to look over, seeing none other than Amanda Holiday. Once she noticed she got my attention, she waved me over. "Come'r a sec." She said as she walked back to her station. I wasn't gonna question this as I ran up to her.

"Yes Amanda?" I ask as I land on the top step, looking over to where she was. She was next to a strange looking Sparrow.

"I have some gifts, for...uh...testing, purposes." She said as she revved up it's engine, causing it to float up. It had a flame like paint job, the rest of it being blue.

"Oh, why testing?" I ask as I walked over to it.

"Well, you'll find out once you take it." She said with a grin. I tilted my head a bit.

"So, you're giving me this, just for the hell of it?"

"Pretty much, yes." She said and gave a small chuckle before walking to the switches on the wall. "And as a thank you, something to replace that old Arcadia ship you have." She said as she flipped one of them, causing a platform to rise, revealing a ship with twin box engines, one on either end, and with a slick orange and black finish.

"I call it Atalanta's Hunt." She said to me, while I was in awe of the gifts in front of me.

"W-why are you giving me these?!" I ask quickly, wondering if she was wanting something out of it.

"Well, I saw what you did for those girls this morning, and I thought that maybe you'd like something to help show your power." She said with a smile, sending Ghost the links. "There, you're all set." I nodded and smiled.

"Thank you Amanda, you didn't have to do this." I say modestly. She shook her head and walked up to me.

"Don't worry about it, it was a pleasure." She said with a smile before adding to it. "Now you take care of that ship, I've only ever made one more ship like that, and the one I gave it to was a special customer of mine." She said with a grin. First thing, I shouldn't press on what she meant by special, two, I do feel quite honored that I got such a rare ship.

"Thanks again Amanda, see you around." I say with a smile, running back down the stairs. Quite a lot of things has happened today, but it is only the beginning…


	18. Night Over The Cabal : Chapter 17

"So, you're telling me that Cayde gave you some secret orders, to give to me and Jarvis, for us three to go and assault a Cabal war base on mars. Just us?" I ask Kry as we all stood at the front railing of the tower. Me and Jarvis were skeptic about what Kry has said, yet he seemed excited. He nodded quickly and checked his gear all at the same time.

"I know! It's really exciting!" He said as he picked up his helmet. Me and Jarvis look to one another before looking back at him with smug looks.

"Do you know why we asked you to tell us here?" I ask with a smug tone. He tilted and shook his head before another voice rang in.

"Thanks for waiting you guys!" Raylin said as her, Myata, and Zula walked up. I could see Kry's face light up in confusion.

"Yea, well, we all got that mission." Jarvis says with a laugh. We all joined in a laugh before Kry sighs.

"Oh, well, that makes more sense now." He says, possibly embarrassed now.

"What, you don't want me coming along Kry?" Myata says in a way that I ignore, but it seems that Kry knew what it was.

"N-not that, just...Nevermind." He says with a laugh.

Before we knew it, we were all getting ready to enter the atmosphere of Mars.

"Hey Drake, nice ship there man!" Kry says over the coms. To be honest, I may have flew in front to show off my new ship a bit, maybe.

"Yea, I have never seen a ship like that before. Where did you get it Drake?" Zula asks me. I chuckle a bit as Mars came into view.

"Well, let's just say I may have a sponsor." I chuckle a bit more as we slowly make our way to the planet. As we broke the atmosphere, I could see a message from Kry on my screen.

"Let the girls go ahead and break the front gate, us three will join momentarily." I chuckle a bit once I see that.

"Hey girls, you three attack first, the three of us will have another way of entering the base." Kry says over the coms. I can hear the girls whisper over it before laughing.

"Awww, you guys getting cold feet? Well I guess we girls will have to clean it up then." I can hear each of them basically say before diving their ships to the base entrance. Once they are out of com range, Jarvis spoke up.

"Alright, so what's the plan here you nut bucket." He says with a laugh. I can hear Kry growl at his new found nickname.

"Aerial drop, the three of us will drop from this height into the base once that over shield of theirs goes down, then we destroy the Cabal." He says confidently. Honestly, if he was giving this suggestion a while back, we'd scold him for it, but now…

"Let's do it!" Me and Jarvis say at the same time. I could even hear Kry jump a bit in his ship from our outburst. We then had our ships stop there, waiting for the right moment to fall. Then the sound of generators below giving out rang through the air.

"Ready guys?!" I hear Kry yell over the coms.

"Let's do this! Let's show this planet our light!" Jarvis yells back. I only gave a grunt before the three of us leaped out of our ships, and plummeted down to the surface below. We were like rockets, speeding towards our target. It was clear in the sky, so we could see the firefight between the three girls and the cabal. One thing though….I was happy they couldn't see the horde of Cabal that was behind the front gate, there was so many of them. Seeing the many Cabal below got me thinking. From this height, could it be possible that my super could….hell yea. I grin widely under my helmet, feeling myself freeze in mid air, having arc energy build up around me. I could see Kry and Jarvis look back up to me in confusion.

"What the hell is he doing?" I can hear Kry yell to Jarvis. Then in an instant, I flew straight past them like a speeding bullet. I could feel myself almost breaking the sound barrier as the ground came closer and closer.

"Drake, is that you?!" I hear Myata on the coms, I must've entered range. I then flipped up, coming back down to bring my fists down to the ground. I heard and saw all the Cabal, being obliterated by the shockwave that was sent through the courtyard, I could see sparks being thrown everywhere. And it was a beautiful sight. And as quickly as the chaos started, the dust settled over the empty place. I stood up and looked back to see a single Centurion had survived, struggling to it's feet, trying to shoot me. But out of the silence, came a blue blade from Kry, striking the Centurion in the head with his knife. The head came off the cabal, blasting Kry into the air once again, only to be caught in the arms of Myata. Behind me, Jarvis landed gracefully, loading his gun. I look back at Kry and Myata with a smile.

"Well, I guess we can call you guys our heroes today." Myata said with a chuckle. Jarvis chuckled a bit, leaving me with a grand smile on my face. Raylin walked up as she reloaded her hand canon, she was smiling at us, possibly impressed. Then comes Zula, her shotgun in hand, pulling a legionary by it's head along with her.

"I thought you were some kind of space debris, but turns out you were a speeding comet of arc energy...not bad Drake." She said with an actual and legit impressed tone. I grin wider, only to realize that Kry was still in Myata's arms, completely silent.

"Uh, Kry, you ok?" I ask, getting him to snap back from reality.

"Ye-yes! I'm fine, c-can I get down now?" He speaks in complete stuttering sentences. Myata chuckle and tosses him a bit forward, allowing him to land on his feet, dusting himself off a bit. Zula walks over to me as everyone seems to take this moment to calm down from the excitement.

"Taking my threats yesterday, now stealing all the glory and fun? What kind of man would do that to a woman?" She asks sarcastically. I only chuckle as I load up my auto rifle.

"Well, I guess I felt left out." I say with a grin under my helmet. And as if on cue, doors around the arc of building around us had opened, revealing cabal that were exiting and slowly coming out to get us. The six of us quickly loaded up, getting back to back. I could feel Jarvis to my right and Zula to my left, Kry and Myata on the other ends of them, then Raylin at my back.

"Well, looks like you three won't be left out now…" Zula says as she finished loading her shotgun. And as the empty shell from her shotgun hit the ground, the cabal then charged.

Surrounded by cabal, we were clumped in the middle of a circle. We all looked to each other and cocked our guns almost in sync. From there we began blasting and shooting down all types of cabal, we just continued shooting and firing, waiting for their numbers to thin, but whatever we shot seemed to have been replaced only moments later behind the cabal that had already shown up. It felt as if this was a trap, and honestly I could feel the aura of worry on everyone. Except Zula, something in her seemed, rage inducing. As you could predict, she was the first to pull her super out.

"ALRIGHT THAT'S IT" Zula glowed with solar energy as she pulled out her golden gun, shooting cabal left and right, Raylin pulled hers out soon as well joining Zula till both were out of solar ammo, bringing them back to their regular ammo. Well almost, with that rage, Zula instead of her primary brought out her heavy, a rocket launcher. She loaded up and shot the rocket into the crowd, defiantly thinning the numbers. A large group of cabal came in to fill the space, but from there there weren't any more coming, clearly our idea to thin their numbers was working. I didn't mean to steal Zula's idea. But I pulled out my rocket launcher as well blasting the few rounds I had into the crowd, causing mini rockets to come from the explosion and blast even more Cabal. I slightly began to regret using my super earlier, but I could feel it charging in me. Just a bit longer, I kept thinking to myself.

Jarvis was the first to separate from our small group, running straight into the crowd of cabal. Once inside I heard a shout, with what he usually said, I was glad the sound of gunfire dulled it out, a dark purple and black blast came from the crowd as a good chunk of the cabal was taken out by his blast. But I soon had no choice but to run after him, especially after he was shield bashed back into a crowd of Cabal. I honestly shot and punched my way through them. I helped Jarvis up into his feet and we stood back to back blasting enemies to the ground. We fired and fired, until we were out of the crowd and back to our group. What I took notice was the absence of Kry and Myata.

While Zula and Raylin were throwing grenades in opposite directions, I noticed the line that followed Kry as he used his super charge. His speed being incredible! He slashed Cabal down left and right. It still didn't answer where Myata was. I looked around, but stopped when I saw a blue flash, it disappeared within seconds however, I shook the image out of my head as both Myata and Kry returned back to back, both looked as if they would be out of breath if it wasn't for the fact they were Exo's. I couldn't help but keep thinking of Myata's brief disappearance. They both turned around and high fived like a couple of dorks. The thought I had before leaving my mind, as I thought of my friends working together and getting along.

While we worked on thinning the numbers, a roar was heard and everyone including the Cabal looked in the same general direction. As a Colossus came out from one of the larger buildings. It raw red and began charging at us. From there everyone began firing at it, taking the blows that the left over cabal had begun firing at us. It was slowed from the blasts but a clicking sound was heard as Myata fell to her knees, she caught her balance but remained down. Kry and the two other girls looked to her in concern, but a clear growl came from all three of them. The intensity of the growl made me take a step to the side to get a bit more distance from them. Then I felt the spark of light in me, I could feel the arc energy when ready to blast, so I took a running start, by now everyone knew what I was going to do, so they returned fire at the smaller cabal so they didn't get any more harmed than they already were. From there I went down on my knees to a slide to close distance between me and the Colossus, I jumped up and immediately came right back down, slamming my fists into the Colossus, after I landed I spun around and punched it once and from there is fell and disintegrated. I took a second to catch my breath

Within another few minutes the cabal's numbers were thin enough for everyone to just walk around to them and stab or punch them away. With the accomplishment of victory, I looked around to see if everyone was ok, Zula, Raylin and I were still standing, the two waved to me and I happily waved back. Jarvis and Kry sat in the ground, while Myata had taken the time to physically lay down, as if she was exhausted, hell, she almost seemed asleep. It was confirmed she wasn't from Raylin and Zula walking to her and talking to her.

It seemed like we won, but then an automated voice of a Cabal came over the intercom of the base, as it talked, Ghost spoke up.

"Last resort?..." He said before the walls of the base opened up, revealing a plethora of missiles and rockets, all aimed at us. We were all close to each other, meaning it would be all our ends in an instant. We all grew with dread, was this our end? The missiles didn't give us time to answer before they were launched at us. I could feel myself become weak, everything I did...all gone...no, I can't let this end! I looked back to my fear ridden team, awaiting their demise, but I ran to the center of them, wanting to protect them. My body moved on it's own, like I was trying to stop it all…..then I heard a loud explosion.

The dust cleared, and the area was silent once more….was I dead? No, I couldn't be, I still could feel the universe I was in, my friends light around me.

"W-we...are alive?" I hear Myata say slowly before a thud on the ground was heard, followed by the whistle of steam being added. I heard Kry run to her side to help her, while me and the others coughed a bit. We were alive. Once it was visible again, I saw Jarvis at the edge of a purple shield that was around the six of us, it resembled the color of void.

"We...made it.." I say as I catch my breath, feeling my arms slowly fall to my sides...or well….Raylin and Zula's sides. In their panic, they must've been scared enough that they both clinged to me...I couldn't blame them, I would've done the same when I was younger. However, that couldn't stop my breath from breaking here and there as my face turned red under my helmet. They slowly came back to reality to realize they both had a hold on me. They both looked up at me before looking at the shield around us.

"Drake….your shield….you saved us." Raylin said, possibly in awe of the void barrier. I did this...I unlocked my Defender ability.

"He did?...Thank you…" Zula says before passing out herself. I gulp and move to catch her before she hits the ground. We needed to get off this planet….

One hour later….

The feeling that laid in the room of the infirmary at the tower was that of unease. Myata and Zula were still out cold, lying on the beds. Jarvis went to go tell Cayde the report, while Raylin went to take care of some business she had. Which meant, that me and Kry were tasked (well, we volunteered) to watch over the two in the infirmary. We were silent as we kept an eye on them, until Kry couldn't take being silent anymore.

"What you did at the last moment on Mars...to be honest, I'm thankful. It was a truly heroic move." He says with a chuckle, allowing me to chuckle with him, but speaking again before I could. "Trying to impress the ladies? Make them swoon over your deeds?" He asks with that, now trademark, smirk of his.

"You're just an ass, you know that right?" I say with a laugh, rolling my eyes. He chuckles yet again.

"Hey, just saying. You may have won some hero points from the girls today. Oh, and who could forget your planet shaking ground pound!" He says with more of a laugh. "Now that you've got that shield, those two will be closer to you so you could "defend" them." He almost fell out of his chair during his laugh.

"Oh, now we got puns coming?" I say with a chuckle. "At least I'm not the one being carried in a girl's arms." I say with a big grin.

"Oh wow, you had to go there?!" He says with a hush in his tone, crossing his arms. I was going to say more, but I then got a message from Raylin, with only a few words.

"Meet me in the courtyard." Is all it said. I raised my eyebrow and stood up, looking over to Kry.

"Could you watch them for a bit? Raylin needs me." I say to him with a nod, one being returned by him before I walk out and up to the courtyard. Once I got up there, it was already around midnight, the moon up in the sky, seeming to mimic the light of the traveler that was closer. I walked around a bit as I tried to find Raylin, not really seeing her till I looked down the railing. She was off at the edge of the courtyard, in one of those hanging platforms that sat next to the hallways. I had then quickly made my way over to her. Once I got close enough, there was no time for hello.

"Drake, do you remember my father?" She said as she kept her gaze to the city. Her question alone was enough to make me jump. Did maybe one of the others tell her?!

"W-well, I guess, I've only met him a few times." I say, trying to keep my voice normal. She then slowly turned to me before jumping up and sitting on the railing.

"Well, he remembered you...even after you moved." She said plainly. "He said that he could see the same kind of future for you as he did for me." She continued with a slight smile.

"Well...isn't that a good thing? He knew from the beginning that the two of us would become the guardians we are today." I say, my smile growing. She then hopped up and walked closer to me.

"Yet, he chose you to take his ghost." She says, a smile still on her face. My eyes widened at her words, she knew!

"H-how did you know that?" I ask, feeling out of breath, like I was about to pass out myself. Yet she only kept her smile at me.

"Why wouldn't I? My father told me he was going to find you and give you it." She said with a honest voice. Oh...wait! So I've been paranoid about this for nothing?! I guess she sensed this realization I had, giving a chuckle. "I guess you were scared to tell me?" She says as she holds in her laughter. I sigh and nod slowly to her.

"Yea, I was afraid to tell you...but now I see that I was afraid for nothing." I chuckled awkwardly, rubbing my neck. She chuckled and smiled up at me, seeming to be closer than the moment before.

"Well, I guess now that I've relieved you of that stress, I think you owe me." She said with a small grin, with a mischievous voice. I only chuckled more, hoping to get out of it before I was locked in something I didn't need.

"Well, as long as it's nothing huge." I say quickly, giving an innocent smile.

"First, what you did today proved two different things to me." She said with a larger smile. "The first thing, is that my father did see greatness in you…." She then stopped speaking there.

"Oh...then what's the second thing?" I ask curiously...what I got as an answer...was a blank mind, a stunned expression, and what felt like arc energy sparking off my lips...and a simple

wave goodbye from her before she walked off. I stood there for a minute or two as I processed what happened. I then walked back to the infirmary, first thing I see was Kry leaning over Myata, his face close to hers. I then coughed a bit to get his attention, causing him to jump.

"I-I wasn't doing anything weird! I was checking to see if she was still overheating!" He says as he makes a small show of him feeling her head, even though he couldn't actually feel. I was about to shrug it off before smirking.

"What? You gonna headbutt her again?" I ask slyly.

"Oh screw you too!" He yells out to me.


	19. An Exo-terrestrial Figure : Chapter 18

Before anyone could wake up, I went out on my own to get some patrols in. I just had to clear my mind a bit...last night...was a bit much for me.

"You know they are gonna worry, right?" Ghost asks me as we made our way towards Venus.

"Yes I know...I already sent a message to them that I'd be back later…" I say with a sigh. "I just need some time to think." Ghost chuckled slightly.

"You've never kissed a girl before, have you?" Was I getting pity from my own ghost?! The hell?!

"No! And why are you getting any amusement from this?!" I say, rather loudly. Ghost took a minute before responding.

"Well, Kabr...he kinda thought...and I quote, "He'd most likely be swimming in the women that swoon over his deeds!"" He says the quote in a good impression of the man himself, allowing me a chuckle.

"Wonder what he'd say if I ever told him that his daughter liked me." I say with a bit more of a laugh. Ghost even joined me in laughing as we entered the atmosphere.

""What?! How could my daughter fall for you?!" But sir, you said it yourself!" Ghost says with a larger laugh as he mimicked out a scene. As we were finishing our laughs, suddenly a distress signal popped up on my map, near the Vault of Glass, at the Endless Steps. Me and Ghost looked at each other before nodding. Changing course towards the lab near that area.

Within moments, I landed and made my way to the lab. It was used more recently, most likely by some guardians that were passing through. I took this as a good sign, moving down the path to the steps. As I walked down the path, I noticed the many Vex gates around, all of them dormant, and I was happy about that. It was almost like a stroll. Then I got to the Endless Steps...where the first Vex Gate Lord was slain by three guardians years before. I was walking on the very place that those guardians walked...and it didn't take me long to be walking towards the biggest Vex Gate...ready for anything.

Once I reached the top, I could see the device that was pulsing the signal I followed. I ran up to it, seeing no one around. It was strange, but there was still no dust on it...like it was recently used. Then Ghost came out, frantically looking around.

"Vex! They are coming!" He said quickly as the gate itself began to power on, a portal opening up, to reveal Vex Goblins and Hobgoblins, pouring out of it. I gasped and quickly slipped behind cover as they took notice of me. I could hear them getting closer...was this a trap?

"I'm not dying here...especially to hunks of metal!" I yell out before tossing a void grenade over my cover, it sticking to one of the few in the group, followed by it blasting them to pieces. More then came out of the portal as I leaped over to meet them. I was already firing my auto rifle into them as more came out. Most went down, but the stubborn Hobgoblins went defensive, creating their small solar bubbles.

I let out a frustrated growl before firing into the Goblins around them. Once they got up, I turned my fire towards them. Most went down easily, however one got a shot off before dying, it hitting me quickly, causing my over shield to drop. I panic for a second before remembering something. I quickly ran up and punched a Goblin down, it's death giving me a stronger over shield of void. These Vex were easy to take down, but as I started to have some fun, I could see something forming from the portal, it's color black, and it's eye yellow….a gate lord…

But once it fully formed, it was clear that it wasn't at full functioning power. It was dented, busted, and burned. Was the Vex trying to reform it? I didn't get time to think about it as it began shooting at me. It wasn't very accurate either, hitting places that I wasn't at all. I made my way around it, firing into it every chance I got. Even pulling out my rocket launcher to fire two rounds at it. As I watched the Wolf Pack Rounds rip into the Gate Lord, I started to realize that this weapon was overpowered. Once the last round hit it, it began to disintegrate until it was nothing.

I quickly walked over to where it was to see that the Vex that followed it had all teleported away.

I gave a sigh in relief before cheering for myself. I just took out the remains of a Gate Lord on my own! I couldn't wait to tell the others when I got back, but then Ghost spoke up again.

"We...got company…" He said as I sensed his gaze behind me. I quickly turned to aim my gun, but quickly see it wasn't any Vex….but an Exo.

"Well earned Guardian...you proved yourself to the Vex…" She said as she leaped down to my level. "But I can sense a better purpose from you…" She said as she walked up to me. She had glowing blue eyes, and had this aura of importance around her, yet….it felt dark.

"Who are you?" I ask as I kept my gun in hand, waiting for an excuse to start shooting. Yet she didn't seemed fazed.

"I never have time to explain to anyone who I cross paths with….but you, where you're going...you'll have all the time in the universe at your disposal." She says with urgency as she looked over at what was left of the Gate Lord. I tilted my head as I put my gun away slowly.

"You mean the Vault of Glass….don't you?" I ask, wondering if she knew something I didn't. She nodded and brushed the dust of the fallen Vex around.

"Yes...and I can tell you have someone on the inside….I suggest you get them to tell you what awaits your team." She said as she stood back up to look at me. I was about to say something before she spoke again. "Guardian, I've seen many of you fall at the hands of the Vex...their souls being left to wander endlessly in the Vault...I've even seen a few take out the heart on Mars….but you...I believe you were chosen by many people...to be the one to liberate that darkness...just know this...darkness can be stopped….I should know." She says as if reciting a prophecy...it made me gulp...I was the center of this, and was I ready?

"What? What is it?" She asks nothing to the side of her. Me and Ghost share a perplexed look before looking back at her. "Alright, on my way." She looked back at me and nodded. "Not all are made in the light...but even I can see the light you carry." She says as she then began to possibly faze out of reality itself, until nothing was there.

I was close to even question my sanity before Ghost spoke once more.

"Oh my! We just met the Exo Stranger!" He says excitedly. When we met her, I was too confused to even understand what was going on, but once Ghost told me who she was, I realized that my whole mission for the Vault got way more extreme. The Exo Stranger, known to meet Guardians at either their demise or the turning point in their legends...had met me...and I wasn't in danger. That means...I'll be legend.

We quickly returned to my ship, exhausted from what had transpired. I sat back in my seat, letting out a sigh. I checked my messages, seeing a few worried ones from Zula, Raylin, and Kry, then ok ones from Myata and Jarvis. Most of all, they were now waiting for me at our next crucible match on the moon, the Cathedral.

The second I joined them was the moment the match started. This match was almost a blur. Jarvis, he took down quite a bit of the enemy before getting shot down. I was going to jump in to avenge him, but he then resurrected in solar power, his newly acquired Sunsinger ability, and man, he was pissed. Zula seemed really mad today, maybe something happened that she didn't like? Anyway, she destroyed three of them within seconds...and when the smoke settled, she was seen beating the crap out of a Warlock, then a Titan, then a Hunter...at least she doesn't discriminate now. Kry and Myata were fighting back to back now, attacking with blade dancer together and such. Raylin, I don't know how, but she's become a complete Dead eye...every time she pulled out gunslinger, every shot she took had found a target. That even carried over to her regular hand canon, only missing maybe one shot.

I couldn't help but be impressed by my team. There was even me, punching down unsuspecting enemies, and gunning down others. Near the end, I even saved Raylin from a rocket with my Ward of Dawn shield. The match ended just after that, and I could hear our team cheering.

"Ain't nobody gonna stand up to us!" Kry says with a cheer of excitement. We all regrouped on our end of the arena. Jarvis nodded as he sat his gun back on his back.

"To be honest, I actually can't wait for this "official" match with those guys now." He says with an excited tone. I couldn't help but agree with him.

"You three are pretty good at crucible already." Myata says with a chuckle.

"And we will only get better." Kry said with a grin, a fist to the sky.

"Alright, then we can keep up with those losers. Now, should we celebrate?" Zula asks with a grin of her own.

"And what do you mean by celebrate?" Raylin asks with a chuckle.

"Oh come on! It's just a couple drinks, maybe some activities. You all want in?" She asks the entirety of the group. Jarvis and me were the last two to give in and nod to her, giving her a big grin.

Within hours, we were in the last city, dressed casually as we sat in a club/bar place. Around me, Raylin and Myata were talking non-stop, Zula was drinking quite a bit, but she was still functional, playing an old arcade machine in the back, I'm surprised those are still in existence after the collapse. Then there was me and the guys, playing what I believe was called pool. It was kinda soothing just to be hanging out...well, until I told them about this morning.

"You killed a Gate Lord?!" Jarvis kept his voice down as he spoke, but I could tell that was a yell.

"Well, yea….it was a bit easy actually." I say with an awkward chuckle.

"But you did it by yourself! That's not a normal feat." Kry said as he was lining up his next shot. "Then what about after that? You said you had two things to tell us…" I only chuckled a bit more.

"I uh….met...the Exo Stranger…" I say as I rub my chin. This sentence got the both of them to stand up tall, looking at me with distant eyes.

"You met….her?!" Jarvis asked in complete shock. It was clear this surprised them both….but Kry was a bit off.

"I...met her once too…" He said in a way that made him look like a young kid, causing Jarvis to turn on him.

"YOU TOO?!" He was clearly struggling to hide his voice from everyone else.

"Well where else would I have gotten my overpowered knife?!" Kry asks sarcastically. Jarvis took a deep breath before looking at me.

"Alright...what she said to you is only for your ears….however, what did she give you?" He asks, perplexed. I tilted my head in confusion, I didn't think she gave me anything but info, but then Ghost butt in.

"I think he means this…" Ghost says as an item materialized over my hand. It quickly fell, allowing me to catch it. It was a strangely shaped item, almost like a capsule. I was hesitant, but I twisted the top of it a bit, before lifting it up off the base a bit. Inside was light….no, pure light...a Spark of Light. "It was left with the message…"Light will be given….give this light to another who will bear it."" Ghost tells me before I close it.

"Dude….what the hell is that?" Kry asks, clearly in confusion with Jarvis.

"I-it doesn't matter….I'll find a use for it some day…" I say as I put it away, wanting to change the subject.

"Uh...how about a round of drinks, on me?" Jarvis suggests with a nervous smile...i nod along with him before the three of us went to the counter to order.

"Oh, you guys going to join Zula in drinking?" Myata asks with a chuckle. I roll my eyes and grin.

"It's not a party without stupid things." I say with a chuckle to match hers. "And it doesn't look like you will be having fun anyway." That struck the two of them to order some drinks too.

After that...the rest of the night felt quick. I remember Jarvis hitting on some other girls in the room, then Myata ask Kry to follow her somewhere...which left me with Zula and Raylin. Zula was drunkenly dancing to songs that came on the radio, while Raylin kinda just sat there, thinking maybe. I was kinda nervous to approach either of them, Zula because anything could happen with her drunk like that...and Raylin...because of last night…

"You know at least one of them will try to talk to you…" Ghost says to me. I nod slowly and rub my face a bit.

"I know...I know…" To be honest...I wasn't really thinking about anything...I felt like I was seeing things...Vex, that weren't there...and scraps of names...names of these Vex. My concentration on this was then broken when I felt arms wrap around my neck, causing me to sit up, feeling someone behind me.

"Drake, you ok over here?" Zula asks me as she looked down at me, a smile on her face. I gulped and smiled back up at her.

"Y-yea, just thinking...you know, about stuff." I say nervously. My mind then put things together in my head as if needing to realize something. If Raylin likes me...and sees this...wouldn't that make hell break loose?

"Oh, well don't worry about that..just worry about now, for right now at least." She says as she walks over to my side.

I nod and chuckle a bit as I turn to get up, realizing she was now standing right in front of me. I was ready to jump out of my skin before she wrapped her arms around my neck again, and on cue, a slow song on the radio came on. Oh...it was this again. I chuckle a bit as we began to dance, but not even halfway into the song, Raylin was already over to us, trying to pry her off of me.

Now, the argument, I couldn't even keep up with them, all I know is that it was a fight over me. They even pulled on my arms...however, I felt one of them slip on the floor, pulling me down with them….next thing I knew...was that a steel stool was in my face.

After that...I didn't know where I was...all I could see was those images again….a yellow ball of light…"Oracle…" ...a strange looking Hydra…"Templar…"..Harpies that glow bright blue.."Gorgons…"...a few strange looking Hydras, smaller than the last.."Gate Keepers…"..then finally..a Minotaur that glowed brightly...one that was menacing just to look at…"Atheon…"

As the last name rung in my brain, I woke up with a cold sweat and a jump, sitting up quickly. From as far as I knew, I was now in the tower infirmary, a headache back in my head. I sighed to myself as I thought aloud.

"If we ever want to attack the Vault...we need to be ready." I say before going to lay back down, however, I was just straight up pulled down. I was about to freak out, thinking I was chained to the bed...however...looking to my sides...I find myself in a familiar situation...with Raylin on my right, and Zula to my left….then maybe some inner screams in my head...and my Ghost laughing...again…


	20. My Last Word? : Chapter 19

After that whole...incident...I got away without waking them, and hoping that no other pics were taken of us. I had to get more information...especially on a certain subject. I was heading to Luxan, ready to look past his possible insanity...and voices, to get what I needed..at least some kind of info on what those Vex were...the ones in the Vault. I was making my way towards his lab when Cayde ran up to me from the hall.

"Heyo, Drake!" He yells after me, having me stop and turn to him. "So, i think I found some info on those Hive you guys fought a while back." He says as he pulls out a small tablet.

I smile slightly as he brought up this old subject. It has been a while since I worried about the Hive...I guess that was a sign that I was over my fear of them. "Then what did you find?" I ask curiously.

"Well, they were locked in there many years ago. And it was by a guardian…" He says as he showed me footage of a guardian, forcing the Hive that I saw into the chambers. I was shocked, why would a guardian do something like that?!

"W-why?! What was that guardian doing?!" I ask quickly, unsure if my voice echoed through the courtyard.

"Wait, calm down, calm down...there's a reason why this happened." He said as he pulled up a file on the tablet. He showed it to me. At the top of the file was...Kabr...an order, training order?

"He expected you would head there...so he had a test set up for you…" Cayde says as he brought the tablet to his side, casually.

"He...he tested us? So he took the Rasputin piece?" I ask, confused. Did Kabr plan that far ahead?

"It seems that way...but over all, you tested perfect. I just wanted to share this info with you, make sure you knew." He says with a grin. "Now, I hear you were out drinking with Zula and Raylin, is that true?" I sigh heavily, scratching my neck.

"Yes it's true...so what?" I ask, annoyed by this subject now. Cayde gives a mischievous chuckle.

"Oh nothing, just heard that lip locking was involved." He says as he turns to walk off. I flinch a bit as he says this, but let it off as I turn to walk into Luxan's lab.

When I entered, it was a bit of a mess, but over at a table, sleeping on his work, was Luxan. I chuckle a bit as I walked over to him, slowly shaking his shoulder to wake him.

"And furthermore! I am not hungry!" Just as he finished a large growl erupted and filled the room.

"Your stomach growled." I say with a quizzical look upon my face.

"Fantastic observation! Zeus if you will be quiet please I have guests. So how are you faring? Did the portal I brought out of storage treat you better than it did for me? Considering the lack of screams of the innocent I would say yes." Hearing him ask about the portal, kinda made me uncomfortable for the third time today.

"Oh that? Well, killed lots a Vex in it, so I guess that was good." I say with a nervous chuckle.

"So they weren't spewing out uncontrollably? Interesting, very interesting. Well I assume you didn't come to talk about when I used the portal and vex filled up the tower. What did you wish to discuss?" After he said this, he got down from the table. I nod before responding.

"I need to know about the enemies that reside in the Vault of Glass..." I say as I let him past me, however, my sentence caused him to pause in place.

His carefree attitude dropped to the most serious that I'd ever seen. "You're planning on going into the Vault of Glass? I do not advise that. Perhaps it would be best if you went on a different mission." I knew after seeing his face that he was truly worried for me, but I knew my future resided there.

"Luxan, tell me, please. I need to know this." I say quickly, trying to sway his intelligence.

"And what is your motivation? Don't just respond with 'I thought it would be cool' or 'I wanted to kick some ass'. Why is it that you wish to go there?" He said with urgency, he really didn't want me to go there.

I took a deep sigh before responding. "Because I swore an oath to myself...to avenge a mentor of mine."

"I've seen many guardians more powerful than you go into the Vault under the same circumstances. Only the luckiest of the luckiest have ever returned. This isn't some little game anymore. Should you lose you lose everything. Not just your future but your past as well. You would be erased from existence, from the very fabric of time itself. Think about that for a minute. The people you would leave behind would never know that you existed except for a sense of longing that could never be filled. Do you have any idea what that is like? I have memories of me sitting around a campfire with five friends of mine who went into the Vault. I remember the conversations I had but I can't see them there anymore. I don't remember their faces, their voices, or even their goddamn names! Is that a risk you're willing to take?" Just this speech was enough to shake my very core.

"I know the risk...but what about the ones that are, was, and will be going into the Vault? If someone doesn't stop that damned Vault, then who will?! I know that my destiny is in that Vault, because Kabr was the one to show me those damned abominations that call that place home! So tell me what I need, so I can avenge not only Kabr, but anyone and everyone that was lost to it's darkness!" I almost yell, feeling my soul almost light up.

He stared at me for a solid minute, studying me like a test subject. "Fine." He said as he turned around and cleaned off a small area of his work table. "I'll help you but not for your drive of revenge. Avenging someone does not change anything. I've learned that lesson the hard way. I'm helping you so that on the slim chance you win then nobody else will ever try to enter. Avenging achieves nothing but protecting means the world. So I'll help you. To protect many others who would suffer their fate." He pulled out his ghost and said "Bartholomew pull up the schematics on the Templar."

He pulled up two chairs and motioned for me to sit. As soon as I did I was taken aback to see a large ethereal hydra staring at me. "The Templar." He said proudly. "I was able to piece this together from the stories of guardians who escaped as well as some distorted footage recovered from their helmets. He doesn't quite look like this but this is the most accurate visualization to date. One of the first steps to making your way into the vault is to kill him. He's a nasty bugger. Splash damage out the wazoo and a full 360 degree unbreakable shield."

"A shield surrounding it? That's too powerful, especially if it's unbreakable." I say as I study the hologram.

"Yes a complete unbreakable shield. Fortunately for us there is a way to break it. This-" he said as the hologram changed to something with a shield like resemblance. "-is The Artifact. We don't know what it is or how it works. All we know is that it does. From what I've been able to speculate I believe that it is the power source from which the Templar draws for its shield. If you can get ahold of it you can create a blast of energy made from the same energy as his shield and bring it down for a short time."

I studied the image of the shield, something felt off to me. "I think it's just me, but that shield looks a bit newer compared to everything else." I say to Luxan with a curious look.

"Honestly that wouldn't surprise me. These constructs mechanisms are purely speculation at the moment. Any attempt to retrieve anything other than the lost gear of fallen guardians has been met with failure. Not to mention that if they somehow survive trying to remove something from the Vault they will die within the week. Point is don't pick anything up. As I was saying you use The Artifact to bring down his shield you need to unleash everything you have at him. Pretend he's the very devil himself. Of course before you do all this you need to kill seven waves of oracles."

"Oracles? Is that some kind of unique vex enemy that only resides in the Vault?"

"More or less. I know that this is going to sound odd but hell, what doesn't these days? Their glowing yellow orbs. On our visors they appear yellow but in reality they have no color. They emit no electromagnetic radiation. At all. We have yet to find anything else in the universe that does this. If you were to take your helmet off they would appear a shade of black so dark that nothing can come into comparison, not even a black hole. Why they appear yellow in our visors is still a mystery but I consider it an advantage. Against the bleak landscape it makes them very identifiable. Good thing too because once they appear you need to kill them as fast as possible. They're sentient rips in spacetime that monitor that events are going according to what the Vex wish to happen. If they stay for too long they will target you and mark you for negation. At that point the Templar has the power to erase your existence from every timeline that exists, has existed, or will exist."

Once he explained this to me, it was enough to scare me. "Alright...that's scary...now what about Atheon?"

"Well you really have done your research. Not many are aware of his existence. You've surely heard of things such as Mother Nature and Father Time. Imagine a Father Time that is three stories tall, armed with weapons that break the laws of physics and can be considered a God. People always wonder whether humans created God or God created humans but for the Vex it is not a problem. Atheon is a god created by the Vex. Considering I've already killed a god that should not be too hard but don't take any chances."

I thought about the whole thing, trying to imagine it. Then I jump up a bit. "Wait, you killed a god?!"

"Oh did I forget to tell you that? I was one of a team of three that made it into the black garden and killed the Black Heart. Ah such fond memories…" Hearing him say that was enough to surprise me.

"Then you killed that gate lord on Venus?!" I ask in excitement.

"Oh yes that little fella. He was fun. It helps that the Vex practically display their cores to us. You know when was the last time I went to Venus? I should go check it out sometime and see what's new. He's sure to have rebuilt himself by now." He said scratching his chin with the gears turning in his head almost visible.

"I kind of, well, already took care of that." I say with a chuckle.

"You mean he rebuilt himself and you destroyed him?" He asks in a small surprise.

"Yea...by myself." I say, my nervous chuckle now showing.

"Magnificent! Tell me more!..." And after that...we went on to tell stories.

After leaving the lab a few hours later...I felt like I swapped stories with Luxan for years. He was one guardian that has seen it all, even the Exo Stranger. He was one of the three that went to destroy the infamous Black Heart on Mars, and the Gate Lord I killed, him and two others killed it before. So yea, just walking in the footsteps of light, no big deal.

I sigh a bit as I made it back into the courtyard. I looked around for something to do before seeing the gunsmith again. It's been quite a while since I spoke to him, so I decided to pay a visit, walking up to him.

"Ah, the Titan that changes hearts." He says with a dry laugh. "What can I do for you?" He asks as he sat a box down. I roll my eyes and smile at him.

"You got any extra work needing done?" I ask, being polite to the old Exo. He only shook his head before bringing a box up onto the counter.

"Not work, but I've got some extra weapons that I can give out." He says as he grinned. From what I heard, he was very stingy, so him just giving guns away, must've been what hell freezing over felt like.

"Oh really? Could I take a look?" I ask with a grin of my own. He only shrugged before opening the box for me. Inside where all sorts of guns. I soon pulled out a shotgun that caught my eye, without a word, he nodded to me, allowing me to sheath the gun on my back. I then looked back in, trying to see if I could find anything else. For me, I couldn't find anything that suited my style of combat, so I began to think of my teams styles, possibly finding something for each of them.

I kept digging until all I could do was gasp at the contents at the bottom of the box. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I reached in carefully and pulled out exotic after exotic. Last Word, Thorn, Mida Multi tool, Monte Carlo, oh man ain't that the Truth. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, he then chuckled dryly.

"Alright, you caught me, I'm investing in your team." He says as he held his hands up. I chuckled nervously.

"A-are you sure you want to just...give us these weapons?!" I ask quietly, not trying to gain attention from other guardians. He nodded slowly before leaning over to whisper.

"Those guys you all challenged are….real pests to me. They steal weapons from me, and take other equipment too. So if you could, say, put them in their place, I'd gladly appreciate it." He says with a small grin. Every Exo has some hidden motive under everything I guess. I nodded as I gave a grin of my own, having Ghost hide the weapons.

"Deal, it'll be done." I say with a bow. He nods and stands back up strait.

"Thanks...now out of my shop." He says with a dry chuckle, allowing me to leave. I couldn't believe our luck, we were loaded with weapons that will rip through any enemy...even those Jade Warriors. I had to find my team to give them these new toys of mass destruction we now had.

First one for me to find was Jarvis, he was walking towards the lab before I ran over to stop him.

"Jarvis! Hold up a sec!" I yell as I get to him. He quickly turned to me and chuckled.

"What's the rush?" He asks as he was checking his gear. I grinned and held my arms out, Truth forming into existence in my arms, quickly allowing me to toss it over to him. He gasps in surprise as he caught the rocket launcher in his hand. He looked it over before looking at me.

"Truth?! And you're giving it to me?!" He asks quickly, it must be like Christmas for him.

"Yea, plus, you don't have to say those things when you shoot a nova bomb, you can just shoot a rocket of Void now." I chuckle a bit, trying to give him a reason to stop it. He only frowned a bit before chuckling.

"No promises, but thanks Drake…" He says with a nod. We wave to each other as we go our separate ways. Now, the other four…

I made my way around the tower, trying to find everyone. I then walked into the hall of guardians, and if was shocked to see this...well, a little shocked. The one that was having a full conversation with Cayde...was Myata. As I slowly walked over, I could see a kind of surprise in Cayde's expression, he must be surprised as well. She then said goodbye before moving to leave, I then stop her with a smile.

"What do you want kid?" She asks with a chuckle. I chuckle along with her. I came here to give her a weapon, but I need the details on her talk with Cayde.

"I see you aren't malfunctioning around Cayde anymore, can I know why?" I ask with a sly smile.

"Eh, ya know, eventually you get over things" she shrugged with what seemed to be a slight grin on her face. I lift an eyebrow before smirking.

"Then how did you get over that then?" I ask curiously, trying to match the way she did it when things involved the other two.

"Easily, I...caught, something I'm a bit more interested in, then ever being with that gambler, also

Cayde is like, really bad at gambling too." She snickers, answering the question but trying to change the topic.

"Oh, he did bet that we will live on, are you saying that he made a bad bet there?" I ask, not entirely done with the subject.

"Nah, he's just not always lucky. With gambling you got to have the brains, the face and the luck. I think he's missing at least one of those" she chuckles putting her hands on her hips. I couldn't help but chuckle with her.

"Yea, you're probably right. Now, what's this new thing you're interested in?" I ask with a sly grin.

"Clearly it's whatever you're carrying, I know you didn't come to see me to confess your..unDYING feelings for me, so what you got kid?" She empathized the undying part of her sentence, clearly working her way around the topic. Topic dodging? She has something that she wants to stay secret...but with the crap I've been through, it's only fair I figure it out.

"Oh, well, I'm not sure if you would be so interested in it. I mean, who would want an exotic when they got something FAR more interesting than that." I say slyly, making sure to act calmly.

"An exotic? Dude, I'm a guardian, there's nothing more interesting than new weapons, especially exotics." She was clearly fighting back on this. "So I get one of these? Or are they all for you?" She asked calmly crossing her arms in dominance. At this point, I knew that we both knew we were having a battle.

"I don't know, I feel like you'd owe me if I give you one." I say as crossed my arms, this battle, no matter what happens, I'll win it soon.

"What do I owe the honor? Do you want to know something? I guess I have a few secrets I can share… Zula has a copy of the photo me and Kry took the night of that party." Once she said that with a casual look, my eyes widened. I thought those were deleted, but why is Zula the one that has it?!

"Wait what?!" I ask in complete shock. I was in complete confusion.

"She asked for it, and then asked us to delete it so no one else could have it, I didn't actually though, if she thinks she can keep that photo to herself she's got another thing coming, I'm surprised Raylin hasn't asked for a copy yet" she shrugged.

I couldn't help but blush deeper. "W-why did she ask for one?" I ask nervously, I guess going after her secret will have to wait.

" I don't know...actually I think I know..but I don't want to confirm it true. You poor innocent soul, I feel sorry for you." She shook her head chuckling. I gulped slowly, what the hell is wrong with my life?

"Uh...should I ask what you think it is?" I say, almost shyly.

"I'll never mention it again, or tell you what I think, if, I get the exotic you plan to give me" she spoke slyly. "I guess it depends on which you rather want, to know or not to know, that is the question." Well played Myata...well played.

I had Ghost bring the gun, Monte Carlo, to my hands quickly, holding it out to her. "Please...tell me." I say, possibly a bit too desperately than I intended.

"Here, I'll tell you what" she takes the gun from my hand and equips it. "The photo is taped to her ceiling in her bedroom, Raylin has been folded out of the photo so she only sees you and her, and she...has a special toy in her third drawer in her nightstand." She spoke softly and slyly. I couldn't even work as my mind processes this information. Well, for one thing...I confirmed it..the minuscule chance turned into reality...Zula likes me too...and well...the rest of that info…may have been overkill.

"I-I have…..no idea...what to do now…" I say, suddenly out of breath. This was taking my breath from me?! I never knew how crazy it could be with girls...damnit dad...I should've let you talk to me about them.

"Take a seat, you need to take this in, if you want I'll tell the others that you want to give them something, they'll come to you. Is that ok?" She smiled friendly like, guiding me to a place to sit. I knew she was trying to help me...and I needed some help..

"Myata...I need to ask you something…" I say, still trying to catch my breath.

"Sure, what is it Kid?" She sat me down and sat beside me.

"I need some advice...on what to do with...Raylin and Zula liking me…" I say, my breath finally returning to me.

Myata huffed a bit and said back. "Relax kid, Raylin and Zula are like siblings, they always fight and most of the time, it's over the same damn thing, I should know, I've known them for a long time..but what you do, is either ignore it or you choose one. Or choose the polygamous route and date both of them with their consent. But Zula is a very stubborn girl. But either way, I've learned that if you don't show interest back, even if it's when you're still deciding, they'll eventually get over it. Don't take it as a rushing kind of way, think of it more as...well.. Clearly whichever one decides to give up, wasn't the one right? Well there you go. Don't feel any pressure on yourself, heck maybe instead of that, one will just grow on you, they'll start as a kind of thorn on your side, but eventually you'll get used to it, and next thing you know poof! There they are! The one you want! It just takes time…" Myata said that last past as if she was speaking from experience. I decided to look into that later.

"Thanks Myata...and well...besides, I'm kinda honored that they like me enough to fight over me...I just…" I chuckle a bit embarrassed as I rubbed my neck. "...I'm not that used to speaking to girls in that sense…" I chuckle a bit more.

"Nonsense, you talk to me just fine, just talk to them like you do me, as a friend, don't sweat about the whole love stuff, and if you ever need advice come to me, for one because I know those two like they're my own children, and two is because your other option is the worst flirter in existence" she chuckled Jokingly, patting my back gently. "I would mention the warlocks, but Luxan is crazy and Jarvis I think owns one of those body pillows, so please don't ask him." She chuckled nervously at that thought. I chuckled awkwardly along with her.

"Noted…I guess...I'll try looking into it." I begin to stand up. "Don't be surprised if I come to you for help within a week." I chuckle some more.

"It's cool, just don't get too buried in this, also don't mentioned what I said to Zula, I don't want to have to force myself to become Myata-1" she snickered.

I blushed slightly and nod. "I won't….I'm still trying to recover from that stun." I say with a sigh.

"...do you want me to walk with you to see Raylin and Zula to give them the exotics?" Myata asked concerned. I take a deep breath before smiling at her.

"No, I'll try to do this on my own. Thanks though." I say, now recovered enough.

"Alright" she speaks standing and stretching. "I'll see ya kid, I'll go tell Kry you got something for him….take your time with Raylin and Zula.." She smirks a bit before walking off.

I sigh to myself before moving out of the hall...to immediately see Raylin walking up, it looked like she was looking for me.

"Oh Drake, there you are!" She said happily before running over. Just the fact that she was looking for me brought me back to the earlier topic.

"Hey Raylin." I say with a smile, trying to not show I was a bit nervous.

"You feeling better today? You took a nasty fall last night." She says as she inspected my head. I smile and nod.

"Yea, I just...got a slight headache." I say with an honest smile, the reason for the headache, I'll never tell.

"That's good, me and Zula were so worried, but being drunk, we weren't thinking straight." She laughs a bit nervously. I raised an eyebrow as I looked at her.

"What do you mean?" I ask quizzically. She seemed to blush slightly.

"Well, Zula thought CPR would help...so...yea." She says with a nervous chuckle. I was about to laugh nervously with her, then she spoke again. "...I also helped a bit...maybe." She was blushing a bit more. What the hell did they do to me when I was out cold?!

"O-oh…" I say, remembering Cayde this morning. Damnit Cayde. She nods slowly and quickly tries to change the subject.

"So what were you doing in the hall?" She asks quickly. I nod with a slight smile as I make a motion of pulling out a hand cannon, Last Word in hand.

"I come baring gifts." I smile a bit more as I flip the gun in my hand, holding the grip to her. She gasps slightly at seeing the exotic being offered to her.

"D-Drake! Who's Last Word is that?" She asks before looking up at me. I couldn't help but smile at her reaction, gesturing the weapon to her. "My Last Word?"

"It's yours now." I say as she slowly takes the gun from me. After a moment, she seemed to get the hang of it's weight, twirling the weapon on her finger before sheathing it. Then in another moment, she pulled me into a hug.

"Thanks Drake, that was sweet of you." She says happily. I couldn't help but smile more...maybe, just maybe I should look into this relationship thing more.

"It's no problem." I say with a smile as she pulled away. She nodded and smiled more.

"Oh, um...I should tell you...Zula has a small...problem that she needs help with." She says worryingly. Based on her being worried, I can tell that it wasn't about me. I nod slowly.

"Alright, I'll see if I can help when it see her. I say with a smile. She nodded and waved at me before walking back outside. This day won't give me a break...will it?...


	21. Who's the Thorn here! : Chapter 20

After my conversation with Raylin...I could feel myself calm a bit more. This whole thing with her and Zula...now that I'm thinking of it rationally, I kinda see how it's not as bad as I thought. Yet, I digress. When I walk back out to the courtyard to see Kry, he seemed to be quite satisfied with himself today. I then walk over and pat his back as I get close.

"What's with that smirk of yours? You get another hug from Myata?" I ask slyly. He jumped at first as I patted his back, but then he chuckles.

"I'll never tell. Now what do you want?" He asks as he looked at me. I chuckle a bit more and shrug.

"Oh I don't know...just got some exotic items you may be interested in." I speak slyly still, hearing an audible click in his head.

"Exotic? Give me one!" He says quickly, I swear, I thought he just started begging. I chuckle and bring out Mida Multi Tool.

"You mean this?" I ask, waving it in front of him. His eyes literally lit up as he saw it, nodding. I couldn't help but chuckle, tossing the gun into his hands. "Go ahead man, you earned it this time."

He smiles before laying a hand on my shoulder. "Dude, you are a saint." I chuckle and smile as he then up and runs towards his quarters. I nod to myself before starting to think of where Zula might be. I quickly made my way to the infirmary to see if she was still there, however, she wasn't. I knew I'd have to wait for her somewhere if I didn't want to go to her room...jeez...well, I don't have to go in there I guess, so I can stay out of it. I quickly start moving, and after some searching, find her room.

Just being by the door was giving me anxiety, stuff goes on here that I couldn't imagine happening while involving me. I take a deep breath before knocking on it, getting an immediate answer.

"Who is it?..." I hear Zula, slightly quieter than I'd expect.

"It's me, Drake." I say loud enough for her. For a moment, there was silence, then her voice was heard again.

"Can you come in?" She asked. It didn't sound like she was nervous, so I wasn't sure what to expect. However, hearing her ask that, I felt my hand shake a bit.

"W-what for?" I ask cautiously, actually a bit scared.

"I need your help with a problem…" She says almost immediately. I calm my breathing before entering, as the door swung open, I was too nervous to even feel the door. However, I realized I was worried for the wrong reason.

"So this is Drake…..my name, is Mara Sov." The hologram of another Awoken spoke to me as the door closed behind me. That name….the queen of the Awoken?! "So I see Zula has her eyes on a Titan...quite strange, well, for her at least." I gulped a bit more as I'm being addressed by her.

"Uh...well….w-why was I called here?" I ask nervously. I could see Zula was staying silent, seeming to be trying to hide. Mara just seemed to laugh at my confusion.

"I needed to see the man that Zula was wanting." She snickered a bit. Now that comment seemed to cause Zula to jump into the conversation.

"Aunt Mara!" She yelled in annoyance, bringing a small chuckle from Mara.

"Oh, am I embarrassing you?" I blush a bit more as they go back and forth. So….Zula's aunt is...the queen? Does that make Zula an actual princess? Why can't I get a break?

"Anyway, I'd like if you, Drake, could accompany my niece here to the Reef. I need to discuss something with you about your mission…" Mara said with a serious tone, opposite of the one she had only moments before.

I nod slowly, knowing I couldn't exactly deny a request for a council with the Awoken Queen, but it's only going to be more stressful with me and Zula being alone. Yet...seeing Zula being this nervous about it..I kinda wanted to help.

"Alright, I'll come with her." I say with a smile. Mara nodded in what seemed to be respect.

"I expect you two within a few hours." And with that, the hologram turned off. Zula sighed in relief, allowing me to sigh as well. Is it bad I didn't want to look up still?

"Drake...thanks...I'm sorry to get you involved." Zula said with a sigh. I smile a bit as my breathing evened out.

"It's ok...I didn't know you were royalty." I say a bit cautious. She nods slowly, looking away.

"I wanted to leave that past behind...I haven't even told Myata or Raylin about it…" She says quietly. Seeing her like this was almost heart wrenching. I nod at her, thinking.

"I won't push you for details on why you left it….but I'm honored to be of need to a princess." I say with a chuckle and a playful bow. I could hear her laugh a bit. I look at her, her blush clear as day.

"Oh wow, don't start that." She says with a bright smile.

"Why? Don't like me calling you princess?" I smile slyly. It's strange, almost an hour before, I was close to dying of an anxiety attack or something over this...now...I'm comfortable with it.

She blushes deeply and chuckles a bit. I decide to stop there. "You're impossible." She chuckles more before grabbing her gun and sheathing it, but before it is, I speak up.

"Actually, I think a hand cannon like this is needed if things hit the fan in the Reef." I say as I hold out Thorn. She looked over in confusion before her eyes widen at the sight of the gun. I couldn't help but chuckle at her expression as I walk over to hand it to her.

"Wait..this is for me?" She asks as she slowly took it from my hand. I nod and smile a bit before thinking of something to say.

"Yea...and I'm not giving it to you because you're a thorn in my side...but so we can be a thorn in someone else's." I say with a grin. I could see her blush only get worse, the thought of the hole I was digging runs through my mind. Then I see her nod and sheath Thorn with a smile.

"Let's do this, my Titan friend." She says confidently as she walks past me to the door. I turn to follow, but in a moment, I turn and look up above her bed, you know, out of curiosity...low and behold...was the picture, with only me and her visible. I gulp a bit and blushed deeply at the sight, yet, I stayed calm. Maybe I should think of this kind of attention as praise, just for the time being. I look over to the dresser...but I didn't think twice before running out of the room after her.

Within moments, we snuck away from the rest of the team, set on our journey to the Reef. I was nervous, I have to admit that. First, I'm going to the Reef, not every guardian is welcomed there. Second, I'm actually meeting the Queen, that's rare enough, but being called to meet her is like one in a million. And third...is that I'm meeting Zula's family, awkward to the max here.

"You sure about this Drake?" I hear her ask from her ship. I smile and respond.

"Yea, I am, I here to help anyway." I say with a relaxed tone. Moments later, we were entering an area that had the shade of purple, and wreckage everywhere. I took a breath as followed Zula though the debris, making sure not to get hit by anything. It was a strange place to be. Then a large ship came into view...the Reef itself.

I was about to gulp myself until I could hear an audible gulp from Zula over the comms. That wasn't relieving…I have to admit. As we flew closer, I could see the hangar, seeing all these Awoken roam around it, a couple bots here and there. We were directed to land and all the normal stuff. We then both got out, looking at each other before following one of the other Awoken. Just looking around was enough to show me the ominous feeling that set over the Reef, something wasn't right. We followed the Awoken to a large door before they stopped us.

"The Queen would like to test you two." Is all she said before the surrounding Awoken pulled weapons on us. Me and Zula jumped a bit, but we were already moving. We both ducked under the Awoken's first shots as we pulled out our own weapons. Seeing our reaction time was enough to stun them long enough for us to fire back at them. Once one of them had taken a shot, they put their gun away to signal they were defeated. This was really a test...but me and Zula weren't holding back. As one was defeated, another Awoken would step forward, taking another shot. Me and Zula were in sync, probably due to the crucible matches we've done, but it was astonishing how we covered each other's back here.

It felt like a normal fight, so I used my armor as a shield to take shots for the both of us here and there, but as the fight was slowly diminishing, I heard a loud voice echo over the opening of the door.

"Cease fire!" The sound of Mara Sov's voice echoed around the hangar, causing the entire force of Awoken halt and stand at attention. Me and Zula kept our guns trained on the Awoken around us as we stood up straight. "I'm happy to see you made it alive." She says as she walked out of the door. I was ready to say something, but Zula beat me to it.

"What the hell?! Why did you have them attack us?!" She yells out loud. I quickly joined in her anger.

"Yea, what's this all about?!" I growl out. Mara only shook her head.

"That was a Vex tactic...wait till an enemy is in an open area...then swarm them from all fronts…" She spoke as if it was common knowledge. Me and Zula paused for a moment, realizing what kind of test it was. "It's comforting to know that the both of you are able to combat that scenario." She spoke more uplifting this time. Zula sighed and sheathed Thorn, I slowly follow her lead as we are led into the throne room.

"Mara...why did you call me here?" Zula asks calmly. Mara nodded and turned to us as she sat down in her throne.

"I have information that may be vital to you….and your 'friend' Drake's future intentions." She made a large emphasis on the word friend there, but overall, I was now curious. Me and Zula looked at each other before looking back at her.

"In what your Tower calls the Vault of Glass….the shield that you, Drake, have heard about...that is the key to your victory...so remember that. Once you have claimed victory….you'll be able to

liberate all of your fallen comrades from it's darkness." She spoke cryptically, filling with me with wonder. "And lastly...an iron will is needed for you and each of your teammates...for Atheon will not show mercy." I nod slowly and sigh a bit. However, Zula was a bit off that.

"That's it?! That's all you had to tell us?" She asks a bit agitated. Mara grinned and chuckled a bit.

"What? I can't see any other family besides my brother? Besides, he gets too overprotective." She spoke jokingly. "Plus I wanted to see what Drake was to you, and vice versa." She moved her gaze to me with a grin, making me uncomfortable again. "He was willing to take a couple shots for you...to protect you...so I hereby make him an honorary noble of my court, that way if I call you back….he must follow." She spoke mischievously. I'm guessing she isn't this upfront when her brother is around.

Just hearing that was enough to make me more uncomfortable, yet, slightly honored….then turning to see Zula blushing again...well, back to awkward for me.

A few hours later….

Me and Zula, I guess we both have had enough for today. The other four were worried about us, but they didn't push the topic when they saw we looked exhausted. They went off in pairs to do missions as me and Zula sat at one of the shops, half passed out, and just sitting at a table.

"So…." She says with a tired tone. I was feeling the same way.

"Yea?..." I say, half heartedly. To make a long story short...after our little meeting with the Queen, she got all crazy with how I was going to "court" Zula. I basically had to play a one sided twenty questions with her...and dear god….she would not stop. Then she went at Zula, trying to get her opinion on me, no matter how dark it was, so I had to get out of there quickly. So yea...met the family…..yay…

"Sorry about that whole trip…." She says, putting her head down. "...And how much of a bother my aunt is."

"It's fine...we survived anyway." I say with a chuckle, earning one from her as well.

"I'm glad I left that whole royalty scene behind…" She says with a relieved sigh before sitting up. I then smiled a bit mischievously.

"It could've been worse, she could've had the others set up a wedding for us right there." Why the hell am I ok with this now? I may never know my mind. I chuckle a bit, trying to hide my contemplation of my sanity. Yet, that one sentence got Zula's face to turn a deep blue as she blushed, covering her face to hide. I blushed slightly as she spoke up.

"Y-you are just trying to break me now huh?" She asks nervously. I blush a bit more and chuckle as I rub the back of my neck.

"Sorry, I'm going a bit too far, ain't I?" I closed my eyes during my chuckle. I felt like there was someone other than her that was watching me though, feeling menacing, but besides that matter, me having my eyes closed for a few seconds...another mistake. I need to realize how fast Hunters are, because I remembered that, when I opened my eyes in surprise as Zula got close to mine...pulling away and leaving me with that arc feeling on my face again. I'm left stunned yet again as Zula runs away in embarrassment.

"What the fuck…..?" I ask myself as I lay my head on the table. Again, I never get a break. My thoughts are interrupted by a voice I've started despising since I first heard it.

"Oh, you're getting stunned just by them kissing you? I'd leave them stunned after a full night with them." The Titan that challenged us to our crucible match said with a snicker. Just hearing his voice was enough to invigorate me. I stood up quickly to get in his face.

"You want to go? Because I'll beat you into the damned concrete here and now!" I say with a low growl in my tone. I'm completely done with this day, and I'm not afraid to take it all out on him. He chuckled with that stupid grin of his.

"Oh, and I thought you would be tired out with a full day with her." He snickered once again, trying to provoke me. He then grinned largely. "Fist fight, me and you, courtyard, now!" He said in a challenging way. My only response was a growl, and me punching the wall, leaving a crack in the wall of the Tower. Within moments, we stood on opposite ends of the courtyard, and people gathering around us. I could sense that the rest of my team returned...now in the crowds...Zula joining them, I guess she calmed down enough to come back...but now seeing me in this situation.

"KICK HIS ASS DRAKE, SHOW HIM WHAT WE HAVE AS AN EXAMPLE FOR OUR FINAL CRUCIBLE BATTLE, BRING HIM TO HIS FUCKING KNEES!" Myata shouted a bit too excited to witness this beat down. The crowd around us soon began cheering and taking sides and bets on who would win, I think I even see Cayde on my side...betting already on me. I couldn't help but grin at the support I was getting.

I knew that the first strike could decide the rest of our fight, so I needed to make sure I landed a good hit. Then all at once, me and him started sprinting towards one another. The cheering getting louder as we got closer. Then in almost the same speed, we both swung our fists at each other, connecting our fists left a major effect though...his charged with arc energy, and mine with void, the connection of the strikes, and how fast they were going, only added to the blast that emitted from the contact, blasting air in all directions, also me and him to our ends of the courtyard.

Even after I landed, I could hear some of the wind still blowing, hearing the bystanders yelp and scream in surprise, trying to stay on the ground. In the commotion, I take the initiative and get back up, running over to him as he was just getting up. I leap over and land a punch to his head, knocking his helmet clean off to reveal a blond head, but I was not in the mood. He kept trying to get up to swing at me, but I would add another punch to his face, until I would not stop. I knew I won now...but I was already venting, punching him over and over, I only stopped when I heard the sound of a nova bomb being charged, then a sharp blast hitting me, propelling me over the edge of the tower.

I looked down below as I fell, I couldn't move, nothing...I heard the screaming and yelling behind me as I fell...I remember my gear showing up on my body before making contact with the ground...then darkness...


	22. A Day of Rest Some Day : Chapter 21

A third eye...why am I seeing someone with a third eye? It's showing me images...the future maybe...Hive...everywhere...a god...and me standing there...with other guardians...a sword in hand….

I wake up in a cold sweat, immediately sitting up, and receive a collective gasp from my team that surrounded me.

"Drake!" They all yell as they got up from their chairs to check on me. I sit back a bit overwhelmed as they saw I was fine, sighing in relief, every single one of them.

"G-guys, what happened? I asked cautiously. Myata was the first to speak up.

"You were launched off the Tower...you hit the ground hard kid.." She said, her voice filled with worry. I gulp and look down, I only felt sore right now...how could I have…

"And...you were out for a week…" Jarvis says with a sigh. I instantly look up at them all.

"A week?! I was out for a week?!" I ask, almost yelling. All I earned was a couple nods for them all.

"Well...to be fair...that guy you beat down is still out. You took him down." Kry says with a small chuckle. I smile a bit after hearing the news.

"They are still trying to fix the ground where you beat him into it." Myata spoke with a snicker. I chuckle a bit.

"That's good….I'm sorry I haven't been up to help for a week." I say with a nervous smile. Raylin shook her head and smiled.

"No, you deserve the rest after that fight….and taking a nova bomb to the chest…" She said with a chuckle. Zula nodded and butt in.

"Cayde also showed us the footage as to why you fought him….thanks for defending us Drake." She spoke with a soft smile. Myata then patted both the girl's shoulders as she stood.

"Well, we'll let you boys catch up." She said as the three of them left me, Jarvis, and Kry alone.

"Dude, you got some guts." Kry says to me the minute they leave. I chuckle and nod as Jarvis smiled.

"Yea...but let's just hang out guys...we don't need any extra stress for you Drake." He says with worry. I nod slowly and smile more.

"Thanks guys….so what should we do?" I ask for any suggestions.

"Let's make up some stories." Kry suggested with a grin. Me and Jarvis looked at each other before shrugging.

"Sure, I don't see why not." I say with a smile.

Kry then began to clear his throat. "Legend has said, the story of a warrior, a handsome, strong, sexy and cool hero. He will travel around the world, searching high and low, slaying many hive and fallen, he even one time didn't look,at an explosion, because cool guys don't look at explosions. And on this journey he will meet his one and true love, a fair maiden..her name, being Myata." He spoke in a dramatic tone, but was interrupted by me and Jarvis laughing.

"Kry….I don't think you can actually save someone like that." Jarvis said as he calmed down.

"SHUT UP IT'S MY STORY!" Kry yells, possibly embarrassed.

"But didn't you headbutt her once?" I ask with a grin.

"Drake we don't talk about that, ever!" He says quickly, trying to keep his voice from faltering.

"Also, she's saved you multiple times, hasn't she?" Jarvis asked with a chuckle.

"Jarvis don't take his side!" Kry yells. You know he was embarrassed if he didn't use Jarvis' nickname.

Then off to the side, Luxan came into light with some supplies that he was taking back to his lab, stopping to tell his opinion. "I think what they're trying to say, and the voices agree, that you are kind of...a loser." He says before leaving us.

"Wow..thanks Luxan." Kry says with a mighty sigh. Then suddenly, Jarvis spoke up.

"I'LL TRY TO TELL A STORY!" He spoke excitedly. Me and Kry shared a similar uneasy look.

"Umm, ok?" Me and Kry slowly say.

"Alright, in a world, where Super Saiyans are real an-!" He began to speak before Kry leaped up to cover his mouth.

"Jarvis I'm sorry, but I'm stopping you there." Kry said with an uneasy chuckle. "I wonder if the girls are having any better luck with story time than us." he says with a chuckle, but it was soon followed by audible yelling from them outside. "Never mind…."

"Well how about you Drake, you got any stories?" Jarvis asks with a grin.

"Umm well, not really, but since we are on the topic of girls, I found out that both Raylin and Zula like me…" I say with a nervous chuckle. The both of them look at one another before looking at me.

"Umm you think?" Kry said sarcastically.

"Was it really that obvious?" I ask with a sigh.

"Are you really that dense?" They both ask. I only chuckle a bit.

"Oh man, you are!" Jarvis says with a laugh.

"So?! It's not like it's the most important thing in the world!" I say a bit irritated.

"Drake, you, my friend, need to get laid." Kry says with a chuckle.

"Oh shut it Kry, you've only gotten hugs from the girl you like." I say with a grin.

"NOPE! I've gotten in Myata's pants plenty of times." he says quite proudly. This made me and Jarvis both silent, staring at him with eyebrows raised.

"Dude…"

"Did I say that out loud?" He asks, his voice showing true concern.

"Nooo, of course you didn't." Myata said as she stood in the doorway, her tone full of sarcasm and irritation.

"Shit…" Is all he could say before he ran around, trying to stay out of grasp. As they ran around, I could see Kry's ghost come into view, allowing him to call out to it.

"I don't care what you recorded, just play it now!" He yells to it. It nodded quickly and started to project an image, the girls and their story time….

"...Well I guess we could do a story time too…" Myata says with a chuckle. They were sitting around each other, thinking of their own stories.

"Well…once upon a time….there was a completely dreamy prince named Drake, he was a hero, a true hero of loyalty and strength. One day he went to save a princess, Princess Raylin…" Raylin spoke as if she was telling a fairy tale, allowing me to blush as I watched.

"Errr I think you mean Zula." Zula spoke up irritated. I gave a small smile at the ironic part of that, but blushed all the same.

"Oh no not again…" Myata spoke with a sigh. Wait, again?!

"Ummm a Human Princess would be more convenient." Raylin spoke with a tone that showed she was irritated by the interruption.

"ARE YOU BEING RACIST TOWARDS AWOKEN?!" Zula erupted into anger. I'm not sure if that's the actual reason why she did though.

"N-no, I'm just saying I think Raylin is a better name for a human princess." Raylin spoke more calmly as she tried to calm Zula down too.

"No Zula, and it's an awoken princess." Again, I chuckled a bit about how ironic that was, but watched intently. They both then seem to growl before they started fighting each other, with the audible threats here and there.

"How about you both just stop!" Myata yells at them, forcing them to separate. "I've got a story, once upon a time, there was a princess named Myata, and instead of a prince saving her, she saved a dorky but cute prince named Kry." She said with a smile. This put the other two in silence. Kinda ironic that she did the same mistake Kry did.

"What?..." They both mutter. Then Myata, with her eyes opening again, and a quick movement.

"Nothing, story time is over." She said quickly.

Then the image faded, me and Jarvis look over to the two, to see Myata had Kry by the neck, almost about to beat him, till she was exposed.

"You both have a bragging problem." I say with a laugh.

An hour later….

The two Exos escaped the grasp of our unit, hiding somewhere in the tower, so the rest of us four are just sitting there in the infirmary. After a bit, Jarvis said his goodbyes before leaving the room, leaving me with the girls...great…but what was currently on my mind, was that the crucible match we had was in two days!

"Are you serious?! I was out for that long?!" I ask with a furious tone. Zula nodded and sighed.

"Yea...it's good that you recovered now though...you'll be ready for it now." She smiled slightly at me. Raylin nodding too.

"And the way you fought that guy before, that shows you'll be at your peak when we go in." She says with pride. Their encouraging words calmed me down a bit, having me lay back down. "And besides, you can worry about that tomorrow. It's already late." I smile and nod up at her...but what I saw kinda stuck to my mind...them fighting over me with my own eyes…

"Um...so, that princess story you guys fought over…" I say with a nervous chuckle. As if on cue, they blushed deeply, looking away from each other, and from me.

"I think it's unfair that Zula is already a princess." Raylin said with a huff. I jumped a bit, but I came to the conclusion that she must've told them after that day.

"I'm still getting shit from Myata about that." Zula said with irritation in her voice. I don't think they get why I brought up their story.

"Well hey, just calm down." I say with a smile as I sit up a bit. They both looked at me, both nervous.

"Well...I guess it's good you noticed we like you...a lot." Raylin says with a chuckle. Zula gave a small chuckle as well.

"Finally, I was getting worried you were too dense." Zula said with a smile. I chuckle and rub my neck.

"Well...just to tell you now...I'm not used to the whole situation...and well...I'm not sure how to even be romantic." I admit with a stupid chuckle. The two of them looked at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation before Zula sighed.

"Well, I guess until you're ready to decide, we will have to work more openly to win you over." She grinned slightly.

"Yea, and plus, since you noticed now, we don't have to hold back as much." She grinned slightly as well. I think I shouldn't have said anything now.

"Well, I guess that's good. Well...I think I'm going to sleep." I say with an exhausted tone as I lay back down, closing my eyes. I smile a bit before feeling the bed move. I look up to see them both take a side of me again, holding an arm.

"You don't mind right?" They basically ask. I was blushing like a madman...but I gave a sigh before chuckling.

"You know what...I'll allow it...this time." I say as I pull my arms away, only to put my arms around them both. Again, I'm blushing like a madman, and now they were blushing as well. They slowly calmed down and scooted into my side, laying their heads on my chest.

"I'm just insane…." I thought to myself before closing my eyes….Myata and Kry better be hiding still!


	23. The Beginning of Legends : Chapter 22

The next day was our final day to train. We went into the crucible many times, fighting with everything we got, not holding back anything. Raylin was the team's sharpshooter, almost every shot finding it's target. She even showed her skills with a sniper, showing that she was almost unparalleled. Now, that trigger finger of hers was enough to get two to three shots off within five seconds, but with Last Word, she can now get five shots off, accelerating her killing speed.

Jarvis, he's been able to get better gear over the week I was gone. This new gear helped him in a way that shows he should be feared now. His super would charge up in half the time from before, so it wasn't surprising to hear nova bombs going off around the area. And his aiming has increased quite a bit as l with his new pulse rifle. He even would shoot at people with Truth, laughing as they try to escape.

Zula seemed to grow a new hatred for people that hurt me. Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered, but between some matches, she told me what she'd like to do with that Titan's intestines….I'm just glad I'm the good Titan here. Her tactics have gotten riskier, yet she seems to be able to cover herself quite well in the harder situations. Her new helmet was an exotic...I'm not sure what it is though...however, its ability gave her golden gun a shot that would deal ten times the normal damage. She would run and take out the stronger opponent before turning on the others, blasting them with the poisoning bullets of Thorn.

Kry would grin through every fight, no matter the situation, he was chill. He tended to stay above us, firing head shot after headshot with Mida. Then, when he ran out of ammo, he would go blade dancer, cutting his way through the battlefield at a monstrous speed. When he turned a corner, and half of the enemy team was there, he left no survivors.

Myata...for the first half of our matches, I didn't see her..except for blur...which I found out was her when she tackled me down out of the way of a rocket. She would fire bullets into anyone who crossed her path, and with Monte Carlo in hand, she was flying across everyone's view before stabbing them.

Then me? Well, everyone was worried that I should rest for the day, but I talked them out of it. To tell the truth, I felt more flexible, being able to change any decision I made in the matches on a dime. I'd help clear the front line as the others pushed through, the enemy wouldn't know what hit them. I was gonna make sure that I was ready for tomorrow. I did pretty good….and I was pumped.

After a full day of training, we all got back to the tower….to a speech to all guardians...directly from the Speaker. We quickly found a spot to stand as we watched it.

"...Thank you all for your time….but this is of urgent need. The Vault of Glass….we believe that the power it has is being used on the offensive for the first time." The Speaker spoke with a great booming voice. This sentence got a collective gasp from everyone present. "The door, it has been opened freely on occasion….and we must stop it. If any guardians would volunteer for this mission….we hope to the light you'll return safely." He spoke in a mournful tone. Everyone around us was silent, before that annoying voice called out.

"We'll do it!" Is heard from that Titan as his team walked up on stage. The Speaker nodded and turned to the crowd….as everything else was happening, I felt my fists clench.

"Drake...are you ok?" Raylin asks as she grabbed my arm. I looked at her with a feeling I couldn't process.

"Guys….we need to be the ones that go to the Vault…" I say with a slight gulp. Jarvis was the only one with an audible gasp, the others gulping.

"What the hell are you thinking?!" Jarvis asks. "We can't go there! We are not destined or whatever to go there!" Then suddenly, Kry grabbed his shoulder, causing him to jump a bit.

"The Stranger told me...that I'll find answers to my past in that Vault...and a future." Kry spoke with a serious tone, one that I was not used to. Myata then grabbed his other shoulder like Kry.

"I was told it was the place where I'll finally fix myself…" She says with a tone to match Kry's.

Raylin came up to my side and nodded up to me. "I was told that it will be the last chance to see a loved one….and to save another." She says with a slight smile.

Zula sighed a bit and walked to my other side. "It's where I'll say my goodbyes….and prove myself...as a true guardian...and as a friend." She said with a nervous smile.

I smile and nod. "I was told that we will be the ones...to liberate that darkness...we can do it." I say enthusiastically. The four of them nodded with grins, which left Jarvis who sighed.

"Great...a suicide mission...but if I've learned anything from our adventures together….then fuck it. Let's show the damned darkness our power!" He says with a small smile.

"...Any other volunteers?" The Speaker asked after learning the names of the other team. I then raise my hand from the crowd.

"We will do it!" I yell out, earning the other guardians to turn towards us. We made our way opposite of the others, giving grins.

"Oh, aren't you the teams in tomorrow's match?" The Speaker asked, me and the Titan nodded.

"Yes we are...and I think I know how to decide which team goes into the Vault." He said with his smirk, making me happy that I scarred his face up pretty good. "The crucible match decides it." He says angrily. I chuckled a bit and nodded.

"You're on, and when we win, we will celebrate." I say slyly.

After that, each team had went their own way, the crowd dispersed, and the Speaker back to his spot. My team, we went down to the city to hang out for the last of the day. Oh, and we ruled out any drinks for the night, so yea, no craziness. We all sat at the same table, eating and laughing with one another, to tell the truth, it was heartwarming to see this scene. Zula and Jarvis talked about random stuff, well, mostly Jarvis. Myata and Kry, with us forcing them to be more open with their relationship, were in each other's arms for quite a bit. Me and Raylin, we talked a little about what was gonna happen tomorrow.

"Alright guys!" Kry says as he stands up, trying to gain our attention. The rest of us had slowly went quiet as we looked at him. "I just wanted to say, that we are ready for this...for the Vault as well...and I just wanted to say..if I was wrong...then it was the best time of my life to be serving with you all." He says with a gentle grin. The rest of us were only left with cheers.

"We can make it! There's no way we'll lose tomorrow!" Myata says, a fist to the sky.

"Let's put them in their place!" Zula says, jumping up to her feet.

"Then break the darkness to it's knees!" Raylin said with a grin.

"Let's become the greatest guardians of our time!" I yell out as I throw my fist to the ceiling.

Jarvis sighs and stands up with a smile. "Let's leave a wake of light on our path."

It was a pretty crazy night, no drinks, but it was lots of cheering. Hell, we found out that the whole match will be broadcasted across the city. We even were talked to by many of the other customers, asking for insight into the match. It was quite amusing. It seemed to pass by really quick though...even fell asleep...with...exceptional trouble...with Raylin and Zula. I think it may have been a bit too much to encourage this.

In the morning, we had gotten our gear on...gotten pumped up...and were being flown to our new arena.

"You all ready?" I say to the rest of my team, they all seemed amped up. I earned nods from each of them as the arena came into sight. It was a tall tower from before the golden age. It was set to have open spaces, cramped corridors, and vertical combat sequences as well. It looked a bit destroyed, but we were assured it was safe. The plane set us down on the bottom floor, and as we walked into view of the cameras, Shaxx, the announcer, spoke out to the world.

"Welcome combatants, today, you will be facing six on six, rumble. Kills and assists count towards your team's score. And for all those tuning in to watch this incredible match up, we welcome you to this Crucible match, where the winner will take the choice to go to the Vault of Glass. Now, place your bets now...and let's have the action begin!" He yelled in a strong voice, causing a crowd's roar of enthusiasm from the surrounding areas.

The match countdown began as the sun came over the horizon, this match starts at Dawn….and when the sun's light entered the tower….all hell, broke loose.

Everyone seemed to all have the same idea to enter the tower, however the other team managed to enter it before we could, and they had seemed to split up leaving a Warlock downstairs while the rest of them continued upstairs. I saw the armor of the titan from the corner of my eye as he made his way up. I could feel my light burning with slight rage. Just as we were about to move, Jarvis ran ahead of up, swinging his fist at the Warlock, the Warlock knocking him down with a kick. Jarvis was quick to distance himself from the other warlock and they both began to fire, within the crossfire the three girl had slipped between them and jumped up into the next floor. Kry and I went up to Jarvis as the other warlock gain distance between them as Jarvis had to reload his gun. I was able to block the warlocks fist before Jarvis shouted out.

"Go on ahead! I'll catch up!" Jarvis began shooting at the Warlock again, me and Kry nodded and jumped up to the second floor. The experience I saw up on the floor was jaw dropping, from the corner of my eye I saw Myata's blur disappear, most likely to the next floor up. Kry looked to me and nodded before going after her. But that wasn't the thing I was focused on. Raylin and Zula, they stood there, as if the anger on their faces was a wall that was preventing them from moving forward.

"Synchronize!" Both girls shouted as I could feel their light glow brightly as if it was an aura. And within seconds it was as if those auras, connected in some way. They then moved as if they were two of the same person. Their movements matched each other and they flipped their ways to the warlock, who looked confused but ready to fire. The movements of the two girls was fluent and creepily in sync with one another. The warlock began firing and the two girls each went to the other side of the room knowing he couldn't shoot at both of them. They both then activated their golden guns pointing each of their guns at the man's head, they were only inches away. I shook my head and went to the next floor as I heard two gunshots. It probably wasn't best to be there while they're like that.

The next floor contained Kry and another hunter who were going at it. Fists were swinging, bullets were flying, as if they were both in a life or death situation. Kry took notice of me and nudged his head for me to keep going, within seconds after Kry disappeared, the Hunter, I now realized used solar energy instead of Arc like Kry. Looked slightly confused and scared, looking around. His confused and fearful look was soon filled with pain. As the Hunter was heard to be being hit left and right. Practically being thrown all over the room. He dropped to the ground right when Kry reappeared. He shot one more bullet at the Hunter before the hunters ghost appeared over him, waiting to revive him. The quick stomps I heard coming up the stairs brought my stomach to a drop. Kry groaned before shoving me over. I got the hint and headed up.

The final Hunter and Warlock were already in combat with Myata. They kept swinging at her and shooting, she was quick with dodging and was mocking the two for being too slow and terrible at fighting.

"Seriously what training did you guys do? Clearly you need more instructions from Shaxx before anyone could ever consider you two good at fighting." Myata teased and taunted at them. That taunt brought the Warlock to a sudden rage and he managed to land a hit on her. Knocking her back. I shouted for Myata and lifted my gun, ready to fire. But I heard a growl from Myata, and within milliseconds both the Hunter and warlock's ghosts hovered above where they just dropped. I looked to Myata who glowed with Arc energy, at the same time she looked as if she hadn't moved an inch. She smirked at me and nudged her head. The fast stomps returned as the ghosts disappeared to respawn the Hunter and warlock.

"I think you know who's waiting for you up there" she chuckled as she turned her attention towards the oncoming noise. I felt my light fill with rage as I nodded and went up to the next floor. The next few floors actually were empty I just kept running and jumping from floor to floor as I reached the top floor. Where HE was waiting for me.

His blonde hair was the feature I first recognized, before he smirked almost evilly to me and put his helmet back on. We stood there staring at each other. He cracked his knuckles at me, so I replied by cracking my neck. He chuckled and ran at me. I held up my gun and began firing at him. He was willing to take a few bullets, catching me off guard when he got right in my face I could see my reflection on his helmet screen practically as he swung his fist into my gut, I flew back and hit the wall, feeling my health down already. I cursed at myself for not listening to my team about getting more rest. I got up anyways as I gain some of my health back and sped at him. We swung our fist at one another taking each other's punches. I could feel my hatred boil in my light, and I could almost feel his as well. It was a good several minutes before he truly caught me off guard again. I laid on my back in terrible pain, feeling my health as low as it could get without me dying. I waited to have another blow dealt to me. But nothing came.

After a good minute the pain went away as I regained my health again. He wasn't in the room, what I did notice was the screen that was on the wall. It was the broadcast! I saw that our points were neck and neck and that there was under a minute left. We were in the lead, but not by much. I could see myself sitting there through the screen. Well that is, until the camera changed.

"LET GO OF HER" I heard Kry shout from both the screen and from down stairs. Like really far down. Was he on the first floor now? I watched in horror at the scene, Jarvis was knocked clean out, but not dead for his ghost couldn't respawn him. Each Hunter had Raylin and Zula on their knees, hands tied behind their backs. They growled at the Hunters but it seemed that every time they even made a sound the hunters would kick them in the gut, silencing them. I stood up, feeling my blood RAGE. Kry was in the same position as the girls but he willingly took the hits, he seemed to have stopped after a bit so they don't end up killing him so he could respawn and come kick their asses like he wanted to. Myata was thrown across the room and held down by the rest of that team in between Raylin and Zula. Her head was sparking from a large crack in her Exo skull. No wonder Kry was pissed.

"Keep your hands on this one, one wrong move and she's out of our grasp and we're down" spoke the warlock she had fought earlier. That's when the titan appeared laughing. The time ticked down to the end of the match.

"I guess before we shoot the winning shots to our victory, I guess we could say we brought them to their knees. Anymore taunts boy, humiliations? Anything, I mean we ARE on public Television. Almost everyone in the city and at the tower is seeing these pathetic ladies and their...pets.." He said that last part his head turning to Kry. And that's when I felt it. The next few moments were a blur. Ten seconds left and I jumped to the hole the lead all the way down to the first floor. I fell as I activated my Arc energy. The energy almost black from my rage practically consuming me. The clock ticked down, 5...4...3...2.. And then I hit the ground. And all I could see was blue and black sparks everywhere.


	24. Aftermath : Chapter 23

Once the dust settled, I could hear the sound of the ghosts, waiting to respawn, all around me. I stood back up to see the whole enemy team was obliterated by my attack. I took a deep breath under my helmet before hearing my team mate.

"Drake! Get us untied now!" Kry said with a grunt of frustration as he tried undoing his bindings. I quickly nodded as I ran over to the three of them, grabbing the ropes and ripping them off. Kry immediately ran over to Myata, checking her for any other injuries before picking her up. After helping the girls as I ran to Jarvis to grab him, carrying him in my arms. I looked over to see that Zula was holding her arm, possibly showing her arm was broken. Then behind her was Raylin, limping after them with a broken ankle. That's when everything went from bad to worse….

My smash had caused the structure of the tower to crumble away, now causing the whole tower to collapse in on itself. Seeing pillars and parts of the ceiling coming down, I saw Kry quickly bring Myata outside, followed by Zula. I looked over at Raylin who had fear in her eyes. I looked down to the unconscious Jarvis in my arms before sprinting over. I quickly turned my back to her before yelling.

"Quickly! Jump on!" I yell to her. She didn't take any time to respond before jumping onto my back. I quickly started to run, carrying the both of them to the exit. I took a quick look back just to see if we forgot anyone….and I got my last glimpse of that Titan...escaping quickly as the ruble came down on his teammates ghosts…

2 hours later…..

I sat in a chair in the infirmary as I looked over my teammates, one by one, in a bed each. They were all resting, Raylin suffered a broken and sprained ankle, Zula had a broken elbow, Jarvis suffered some head trauma, Kry had some joints in his face come loose, and Myata….had a piece of her head caved in…

After a small time had passed, Cayde slowly sat next to me.

"You six did good…" He said softly. I gave a small nod as my gaze didn't falter. "I also won lots of glimmer from that.." He said with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes a bit as I watched them.

"Yea….but I'm just happy they are gonna be ok." I say with a strained voice. He slowly patted my shoulder as he looked over at Myata.

"The others will heal...Kry's joints can easily be repaired...and then Myata...her head part should be available tomorrow. So don't worry too much." He said with a cheerful voice. I took another look over them before nodding with a smile.

"Thanks Cayde…" I say before looking at him. He nodded and stood back up.

"Alright, now, I'd usually be the center of attention for these kinds of things, but…" He said with a small grin. I tilted my head in confusion as I looked at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask confused.

He chuckled and patted my shoulder. "Come meet your new fans." He says before walking up the stairs. I wait for a few moments before standing. I then slowly make my way up the stairs to see what was going on.

Once I got up to the courtyard, I wasn't expecting much at all...so you can understand my surprise when a large crowd of civilians was standing before me. My eyes widened a bit as they all took notice of me in an instant.

Their eyes widened just the same as mine did, when they looked at me. One squealed in a very Fangirl like tone before they all ran over, warlocks, Titans, hunters, male or female, Exo, human, awoken, different combinations came running towards me. Some had pictures of me, asking me for an autograph, some tried to physically grab me, some in areas more ok than others.

What surprised me the most was how there were already pictures of me out there. I would move the grabbing hands away before slowly beginning to give autographs. I have to admit it...this was almost like a dream come true. To become a legendary guardian...this is what I wanted to feel like. All the people that surrounded me, there were a mix of people that seemed to be here for the team, then some that seemed to be here for me. It was a bit overwhelming. I ended up signing helmets as well, it was quite amazing to me. Then came the people that wanted a picture with me, in which I happily allowed. There were many people that had them and their friends gather around me, posing so they could all be in the picture with me.

Slowly fans from the back started bull rushing in for my attention practically. I watched them push and shove, one of them broke a poster of me from a human female after forcibly taking it from her hands. I felt sweat drop from nervousness as they got closer and closer, making them more aggressive as I came into view for them. From there they attempted to grab me, more and more, I was quick to dodge them. I felt my stomach drop hearing them yell out.

"HE'S MINE!" "NO HE'S MINE" "BACK OFF SLUT" "OW BITCH" Soon they began fist fighting over me. I honestly didn't know if I should break it up, or run away. I decided to go against both as I walked around the fighting girls to the girl they almost beat up with the sign. I smiled a bit as I came up to her, she was trying to grab the shreds of the poster, but with people's feet on each piece, she had no such luck. As I walked through the crowd, they parted a bit to allow me through.

"Hey, you ok over here?" I ask her before she looked up at me. I could see the stunned look in her eyes before she jumped up to her feet.

"Y-yes sir I am!" She spoke quickly, fixing her hair nervously. Sir? I've never been called that before, and it felt soothing in a way.

"I saw what happened with your poster, could a picture make up for that?" I say politely. The line of people that were waiting for a picture with me almost gasped, but the two fighting girls behind me, I could sense they were envious of this girl now, and also their death glares toward her. She was almost speechless at my suggestion. She quickly nodded and pulled out a camera, almost dropping it before holding it up.

"Can it be a picture together?" She asked shyly. I only smiled and nodded.

"How else would it be memorable?" I say with a chuckle. She smiled and nodded, walking up next to me and holding up the camera towards us. I gave a more casual smile this time, not a pose like on the other pictures I was in, and I could see she had a bright smile on her face. Now this is the way I thought being legend would show me...bright faces of fans...well, most of it was that anyway. After the picture was taken, she almost jumped up with a small squeal. I couldn't help but laugh.

"T-thank you Drake!" She said happily, quickly putting her camera away, possibly to protect it from those girls. I nodded and smiled.

"It's no problem. What's your name before I leave?" I ask her with a polite smile. She suddenly gasped, it must've been a surprise that I was asking for her name, a random person.

"My n-name is Penelope, you can call me Penny if you like." She said quite shyly. I smiled brightly and gave a small bow.

"Well Penny, it was good to have met you." I say with a happy tone. She blushes slightly and nodded with a wide smile.

After that, I stayed for a few more photos and such, but got out of there before any more of the crazy fans came along. I made it back into the infirmary as Zavala started yelling at the crowd. I sat back down in my chair as I looked among my friends. Kry seemed to move himself to lay with Myata. It was almost cute to see them together. I looked over to the other three that were sound asleep. I smiled to myself as I sat back in the chair, closing my eyes for a moment.

"We are gonna do great things…." I say happily, but then suddenly, I swore I could sense the feeling of lust.

"You can say that again big gu-" a girl behind me spoke before quickly getting punched down with incredible force. I jump a bit and look over to see one of the fighting girls on the ground, and Zula and Raylin standing behind me, anger in their eyes.

"No one touches him." They mutter. I'm starting to question if I should be fearing them or not.

Two days later….

Myata was having her repairs today..so Kry was standing by her side the whole time. The crowds of fans only got bigger as our team would wake up. Jarvis was extremely nervous at first, but as the girls started to call his name, you could almost see him melt in awe. Raylin acted proudly as we'd pass through the crowd, waving to everyone as we'd pass, and gave a few autographs as well. Zula was a little self conscious about it at the beginning, but she slowly grew to like the attention. And heck, I was still enjoying it, but when girls would ask me for pictures, Zula and Raylin would almost be the guards for me. So, it got a little hectic.

After a bit, I could see my dad pushing his way through the crowd to me, earning himself some death glares in the process. I chuckled and grabbed his shoulder to pull him forward.

"Hey dad, what are you doing here?" I say with a chuckle as he dusted himself off. Maybe saying that was a mistake though, because once I did, I could hear all the girls in the crowd gasp before screaming.

"That's his dad?! Of course! Can we have your son?! Let me marry him!" Is heard from the many different girls. My dad only chuckled.

"You got quite the crowd here." He says as he patted my shoulder. I nod and chuckled.

"Well, nothing less than what you'd expect I guess." He only laughs and hugs me.

"That's my boy, I remember when I brought you here when you were young. We went to see all the guardians...and now I'm here to see you." He said with pride. Him saying that was enough to make the rest of my day great.

"Thanks dad." I say as we patted each others back.

"Now I should go before I'm ripped apart as well." He said with a grin. "Good luck son, and stick to the two girls you had me meet." He said with a smirk before turning to leave. I could feel my face heat up a bit once he mentioned this. The girls around me were trying to see if he meant any of them. I chuckled a bit as I moved along. As I was walking, I saw Zula walking along, well...more like storming off from a group of guys. These guys are either crazy fans...or are desperate as hell...because each one of them were claiming their love for her, a pretty sad sight.

She then turned to them with a huff. "For the twentieth time, I DON'T like any of you!" She yells at them, only feeding their goal as they try to get closer. She growled a bit before turning and seeing me. I don't know if it was the look she gave me….but her eyes were asking for my help for her. I sighed and nodded slowly as she then smiled. She then quickly ran over to me, quickly getting to my side and under my arm.

"There's my lovable Titan." She said cheerfully. I don't know if she was exaggerating or not. The guys behind her, in sync, their jaws dropped. All their goals to be with Zula were crushed. I chuckle a bit.

"Oh, hey Zula." I say with a cheerful tone, trying to move things along. The girls that were following me had gasped at how I almost held her close. I chuckle a bit nervously as I look around, trying to find a way to slip away, but I end up seeing Raylin was in a similar situation. She saw me and smiled as she ran over. I guess seeing that I was helping Zula out, she thought I would help her too. She then got to my other side, almost in the same manner.

"There you are Drake, I was getting worried." She said as she looked up at me with a smile. The guys that followed her had already gasped. But now, the two groups of guys were already showing murderous intent, seeing as to how I had both of their idols. The girls, however, had put two and two together, and began taking a side of me behind the two. They then began cheering "Zula!" on one side, and "Raylin!" on the other, like they were choosing teams. I guess having me for themselves was stopped, but they decided to support one of my actual choices. But the worse thing I was worried about...is that it's possible that the whole city now knew about my problem...and were now treating it like celebrity gossip. I looked past it as some of the girls took some pictures of the three of us, comments about how cute we were and such being said here and there.

I looked off to the side for a moment to see Jarvis was in the middle of a group of girls, talking with each of them with a smile. He must be enjoying this….I just hope he doesn't start talking about weird stuff again. I began to think of what Kry would do in this situation, probably throw himself into the crowd, but I digress. I was happy that my teammates were recovering rapidly, it let me get rid of my worry.

Slowly, the group of fans would slowly exit the tower as night fell upon us. It grew peaceful once more. I rested my mind from the events of the day at the railing of the tower. I had begun to sigh when a robotic one joined me.

"I could hear how crazy it was from down there…" Kry said with a soft chuckle as he leaned against the railing. I couldn't help but chuckle along with him.

"You have no idea man…." I say with a tired grin. He chuckled a bit and nodded.

"I wasn't gonna leave her alone...I didn't want those fanboys getting any ideas." He said with a serious tone. I chuckle slightly as I pat his back.

"You get some of her and now you won't let anyone else get any. Protective much?" I say with a grin. He only nodded and smiled.

"I guess you could say that. But now what about you? When are you gonna say screw it and go after those two?" He asks with his trademark smirk. I chuckled a bit to try and keep my composure.

"I'm not sure. I don't if it's because I'm not ready or not...or if it's something else…" I say with a small sigh.

"Let me guess…..you don't want to go for it, for it all to come breaking down only a little later. You don't want to be left heartbroken...or leave someone heartbroken." He said with a soft tone. I was ready to talk back...but he hit it on the nail. That's what I feared about this situation, behind all my annoyance and exhaustion...I truly did like the both of them, once I got to know them, they were both nice people to be around...I just feared leaving them hurt...if anything happened to me. I looked down with a deep sigh. Suddenly, I felt a hand rest on my shoulder, shaking me a bit.

"Hey...don't get down about that...now, I don't usually like to talk about how old I am...but I'll tell you a true story." He said with a smile. I looked up at him to listen. "Years ago...I don't remember how long ago..but I used to know these two guardians...both human...just so happened to end up that way...anyway, these two were resurrected from a time long forgotten...together...they didn't know each other...but they quickly took up arms with one another...taking on the horde of darkness…" He moved a bit to the railing to allow a pause, his tone turning into almost sadness.

"They would reach the tower together, and would grow in their abilities for as long as they fought the darkness. They would make friends...me being one of them...and would go on strikes and raids to clear out the threats around us...until one strike….all but them...were eradicated...this came as a realization for them...on how they feared losing each other….that worked in their favor though...they fought like it was their last day...until they broke out of the darkness' reach...both alive...and in love. I remember the last day I saw them...they told me...their last surviving friend….that they were going into hiding...as normal civilians among the city." He said almost in wonder, as if he was reliving that day. It was shocking to hear Kry having a past such as this one. I gently move my hand to his shoulder to pat his.

"Hey...thanks a lot Kry, I think I understand what you're saying." I say with a bright smile, earning one from him as well.

"Alright, just don't give up on them...that's the moral of the story, at least what I think is the moral." He chuckles and nods. After a few minutes, he seemed to get exhausted from his story, quickly letting himself off to head to bed. It was quiet once again….and even though it was peaceful...I felt uncomfortable….like I was used to doing something...whether it was something life threatening, or girl troubles...I felt like I missed that feeling. I chuckled a bit to myself as I began to walk to my room in the tower, the one room I hadn't visited yet…

Once walking into it, it was clear Cayde had gotten annoyed that I didn't come here first, and I guess he could be a decorator...because my room didn't look half bad. But without a moment to waste, I close the door behind me and move to fall asleep the second my head hit the pillow.


	25. This Hole I've Dug : Chapter 24

(A quick author's note. I know this story is rated T, but this next chapter is what I should say as the chapter/episode that you don't need to watch if your too young. This chapter is rated M! Ill give you a summary of what happens through the M scenes here, and I'll leave a mark or something where the T scenes return. Again, you have been warn, most of this chapter is rated M.)

The first place I found myself was this more than fancy restaurant. As much as I wanted to question where I was exactly and what was going on, something in me was more worried about how much I was going to spend here. It only took another few seconds to notice Zula sitting across from me. Her usual purple tinted blush was across her face as she looked around, pretending to not be what seemed to come off as nervous. She picked up her wine glass and took a sip and smiled to me.

"I'm so glad my aunt made my uncle pay for this date...it was...more than sweet, especially from him.." Zula spoke softly as I finally let go of my breath. All expenses paid dinner? Hell yeah I'm into this already. I picked up the menu and looked in it, ignoring the prices on the menu. Zula took hers as well and almost at the same time we put both of our menu's down after having decided. From there we had to just wait for a waiter. I looked at Zula, she adjusted her nice purple and gold dress, that almost matched her shader she already wears. Her hair was down which was less than normal, but something about it made her….pretty, to say the least.

"Thank you for going along with the plans and coming to this..well date...it means so much to me Drake…" She spoke softly. I couldn't help but nod.

"There's nothing to worry about, I mean I enjoy being with you." That's all I could really say since the only thing on my mind was free food. Free expensive food at that. Her blush deepened, and I could feel mine form as well. We sat there silently until the food came, which was odd since we never actually ordered. But it looks like we both craved lobster, which was also odd in its own way. I shrugged it off and dug in, only to hear Zula squeak and jump.

I looked up to see Zula's face completely purple. Tears in her eyes and her hands over her mouth. I looked around seeing everyone looking at us in awe or admiration. Possibly both. I poked at her plate and felt myself go pale. On the lobster's claw was none other than an engagement ring. I was speechless, was this planted?

"D-Drake! I-I didn't...first you save up for this place and then you propose?!" She cried out happily. I mind went racing, I could've sworn seconds ago Ulderon was paying for the meal and everything. I felt like this...this thing, was completely turned in the opposite direction. I saw Zula jump towards me.

"Yes! I will marry you!" I got paler as I saw her lean to kiss me suddenly, and I closed my eyes. But the kiss never came. Instead, the sounds of the ocean came, and I couldn't help but open my eyes then.

I looked out to see the sun setting on the horizon of the ocean. I smiled and breathed out in relief, until I noticed someone was holding my hand. That person being none other than Raylin. I gazed at her as the sunset started to match her tan skin tone, she wore a blue and light purple sundress, much like her shader. I couldn't help but smile at her blush, unlike Zula's nervous blush, Raylin was always the one who blushed when she felt shy. It gave off a more relaxing tone.

"W-why d-did you stop walking Drake?" She asked shyly. I couldn't answer but instead I tightened my grip on her hand slightly and began walking. She was dragged by me for a second before matching my pace and walking right along me. The ocean waves slowly came in, as slowly as they went back out. Each time the waves came in, they got closer to us. I chuckled when I finally noticed I was wearing flip flops. I looked to Raylin, but her dress was too long to tell. I looked to her face, only to see her jump and turn redder and look away from me. I stopped us in our track and squeezed her hand gently.

"What's wrong? Is something bothering you?" I asked her, she looked at me shyly, seeming to be thinking of an excuse or something to say.

"Y-yes, I-it's just….the ocean waves...t-they're getting closer…" She finally thought of an excuse, but at that exact time that's when the ocean's current, came in, practically crashing onto our feet. Raylin squealed from the coldness and the fact her dress was getting soaked at the bottom. My first and only reaction was to lift her up, bridal style of course. Her face only got redder there. I chuckled a bit at how...cute her face was when this red. I put her down after a minute and she looked down. I noticed her fist clench a bit before she spoke.

"S-so...I want to tell you something Drake..I-I had to drag you here..because I was afraid of Zula hearing us...or Myata...I-I just want this b-between us...for now anyways…" I noticed the sudden amount of bravery in her voice. It made me a bit nervous. None the less I took her hand and

nodded.

"I'm here for you Raylin...I promise.." I smiled softly, before she nodded and stood silent for a few seconds.

"Drake...you're the only man I've ever been with...in a...sexual type of way.." I felt myself get pale at that.

"And after that party...well...I took a test..and.." She stopped. I noticed I wasn't breathing, but held my breath anyways. Right then, she looked me in the eyes.

"I'm pregnant Drake.." And after that, I blacked out.

I woke up, but everything was blurry, I felt like I was in a daze. All I could hear was...

"Drake...Drake.. Drake are you ok?" The voice...sounded a bit familiar, but in a more mature way...I looked around, I'm in my room. I can't make out the things inside of it. The world around me is too blurry. I grab my chest, it was heaving, my heart was beating fast, slowly slowing down. I'm shirtless. I suddenly feel a weight on me, it leans forward and lays on my chest. It's feels bare, naked, but soft. I see the color of skin and whitish hair. I can't tell anything else though. I tried to sit up, but I'm too weak.

"Stay down, you passed out after all of that...you don't really know how to handle this well? Do you?.." The voice speaks again. Oh god, did I do..? But with who?... I quickly passed out again before I could answer any of those questions.

(Rated T onward)

The next time I opened my eyes was in a setting that I'd find more relaxing...well at least for a moment until I was blocking a beam of light with my arms. I was back in my armor once again, standing against the power. Hearing a small breath behind me, I turned to see my friends behind me, exhausted and beaten. I could feel anger, some that was already there, but more being added to it as I turned back to the beam. I began to walk forward, pushing it back as I got closer.

"If I can handle this….I can handle anything life throws at me! No matter the cost, I will show the darkness the power of the light!" I yell towards the beam as my walk became a sprint….then suddenly, I was out once again.

"It's strange, really." I heard a different voice ring out in my ears. I opened my eyes to a strange place, a planet looking place….one of machines. I looked ahead of me to a stone altar...and at the altar was a single titan...of black and orange armor...and a mark on his side with a symbol I couldn't understand. I blinked a few times to see if it was possible that this was a dream as well, but the Titan simply walked in front of the altar.

"Damn...Kabr owes me money." He says with a small chuckle. The thought of why everyone bets was beyond me. But I tilted my head at the man.

"Kabr? You knew him?" I ask him with curiosity.

"Knew him? He was like a brother to me...I don't know which of us was the more annoying though...anyway, I'm surprised I'm able to actually talk to you." He said in a cheerful mood. I was only getting more confused.

"Wait...surprised to talk to me?" I ask, a bit worried now. He nodded and slowly removed his helmet, revealing a tan human, brown hair, and a scar across his face that was colored to look like a tattoo.

"Well, Kabr always talked high and mighty about his daughter...and you as well, Drake." He said with a small chuckle. I smiled slightly and nodded, I remember Kabr telling me this himself. "He did suspect you'd have troubles though…" He said with a grin.

"Troubles, what do you mean?" I ask confused once again. He only chuckles to himself before answering.

"He would be worried about your fighting style, or if you could handle the pressure...but it's obvious that you can handle that. But what I thought you'd have trouble with is the only thing that you seem to fail at." He finishes with a small laugh. I was quickly about to question him, but he grinned widely at me, not ominously, but the way an uncle would. "...Women." And as if on cue, after he said that one word, he began laughing once again.

"I don't even know you…" I say with a sigh. He quickly recovers from his laughter before looking at me once again.

"Well, since it's the only thing….then I'll give you some advice. Girls….they are a mystery, yet with some girls, that's a good thing." He says as if talking from experience. "You won't necessarily need to solve them...you just need to understand the mystery that you want. It's what guardians do right?...go above and beyond to solve the mysteries we ponder on? But not all mysteries need to be solved…."

"W-what are you saying exactly?" I ask, slightly confused, he only smiled and nodded slightly.

"I guess I'm trying to say is that you need to get to know the girls that you can choose from...and when you're ready, choose the one you find to match you, or that you want to stick with. Don't think too fast or too far about it….like everything else in your life….worry about the day...or the moment...and go from there." He says before standing back up to walk up to the altar. I think I could see what he was saying now, I quickly looked up to say thanks...but he quickly interrupted me.

"Now, I'll see you in the near future….." He said softly. I then interjected quickly.

"Who are you? Can you please tell me your name?" I ask nervously. He looked back at me over his shoulder, giving me a grin.

"My name is hidden….but my code name is Omega...so I'm Omega." He says before snapping his fingers. The next thing I know, I sat up in my bed with a cold sweat, and many questions….and a sticky note on my door. The current question is this…..who uses sticky notes anymore?!


	26. History Won't Repeat : Chapter 25

I was alone, getting dressed in my new clothes that were provided for the send off ceremony. I couldn't get the thought out of my mind...that maybe I'm the next cycle of history...could history be repeating itself?

The note was from my father…."Hey son. I know you're working hard...and I know you're doing great things...I just wanted to make sure you knew...that even if we aren't here, me and your mother love you...well I love you more, but that's beside the point. I can't wait to see your legend become written. Good luck Drake...we are proud of you."

I was moved by it...I was at the point in my life that I could say I really made my dream come true...yet I found myself thinking of the bad. I hated this feeling.

I sighed to myself before finishing getting ready, and walked out the door. I fixed the sleeves of the shirt before finding Kry and Jarvis waiting for me. They had their own style of clothes for this….Kry in a white tux...I have to be honest, he surprisingly pulled it off. Jarvis was in some spectacularly modified robes, making him look like one of those heros from his shows and books. I paled a bit in comparison at how well I was dressed to them, but they only smiled.

"And the lady killer comes...dressed in a way to show he's barely trying...but will make all the women swoon." Kry says in a deep announcer voice before chuckling. I rolled my eyes a bit and chuckled halfheartedly.

Jarvis smiled and patted my back. "Hey, at least those two aren't crazy fangirls." He says with a small chuckle. Honestly, even though he's new to the experience, I think he knows a bit about fan girls from his books...so I'll trust him on that one.

"I guess that's a good thing…." I say with a slight smile. The memory of that titan plays in my mind….I then try to hide the rest of the dream away from my mind..i'll try to do something about this.

We waited there for a few moments before the speakers came on...with the voice of the Speaker. He went through this whole speech about how the light must prevail and such, to be honest, a little repetitive. Then he got to announcing the team.

"I present you, the team leader that will lead the team through the pits of darkness itself...from both parties that this team was created with….is Drake!" He says as he gestured to our side of the courtyard from the top stairs. I could feel my eyes widen as my name was called. Was this a last minute thought? Or was it been said before? I ask myself these questions before feeling both of my shoulders being patted.

"Get out there boss." Kry says with a chuckle.

"Go on...the world is waiting." Jarvis said with a bright smile.

Looking where we stood, I could remember the first day we met...Kry and Jarvis arguing about letting me join their small fire team...now here we stood...best friends...and brothers in arms. I smiled brightly and nodded before moving forward into the light of the sun.

Walking through the walkway the crowd cheered for me, hearing all these different voices, cheering and chanting my name...it was amazing. I couldn't help but smile widely..waving to the people all around me, feeding them some attention. I soon made it up to the Speaker, who….bowed to me….an incredible honor...I quickly bowed back before turning back to the crowd.

"Next, his original comrades, those he teamed with to take on the horrors ahead…" He then pulled out a small piece of paper...on the top was "please use this when announcing us." And some titles for the two of them. I chuckled softly as the Speaker began to read it off.

"The Lightning Bolt, Krytek-4, and the Void Bomber, Jarvis." He said quickly. I could hear a small chuckle before their fans roared to life as the two of them began to walk out into the open. They both waved and gave attention to their fans, even did some autographs on their way up next to me.

"Next, their other comrades in arms!" The Speaker spoke over the crowd's murmurs. "First is Myata." He says as Myata came out of the corridor on the other end of the courtyard. She seemed to like the attention, waving to her fans as she came up to Kry's side. It started to look like Kry and Myata had planned their outfits though, Kry in his white tux, and Myata in a black dress, honestly not a bad idea for them. I also think they kissed in front of everyone, because I heard some fans, both female and male, gasp.

"Raylin!" The Speaker said as people calmed down a bit, with Raylin now running into view. Did she enjoy the fans? Because it looks like she's trying to get them louder as she walked by. Some signs in the crowd shown as she came out, reading "Team Raylin" and such with all these girls cheering for her. I chuckle a bit unnerved, because I knew the cause of that. She ran up to us, standing by me with a smile. It also seemed she had the same idea as me, having some slightly better looking normal clothes, I mean come on, it suits us both.

"This is nice…." She said calmly, I nodded and chuckled a bit.

"Yea, I guess it is." I say with a happy tone.

"And Zula!" The Speaker said as Zula walked out into view. Now...I know she's royalty and what not….but first off...how in the world did I dream about what dress she'd wear?! It was almost the same exact dress that was in...that dream of mine. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she isn't pretty, but…..alright, I'm scared now, same hair style too?! So I stood there, fighting back a blush as Zula walked up to us with a smile, standing on the other side of me. The sounds of cheering for her was heard, and the sight of "Team Zula" signs were everywhere.

"Ok...I may hate being royalty, but I guess I like the fans a bit." She says with a small chuckle.

I nod a bit and smile at her. "Maybe it's not the life of royalty...but the life of a hero is what you want." She blushed slightly before looking at me. She then nodded with a smile as we all turned to the crowd.

"Here are our heroes!" The Speaker said as he gestures to the six of us. The crowd was sent into an uproar, yelling our names and such. We stood proudly, watching our fans cheer for us.

A few minutes later….

We were going around, giving autographs and taking pictures. It was fun to say the least. Oh yea, those crazy girls from the other day came after me again….and well, Zula and Raylin both had some words for them...bringing them away from the ceremony for a few moments. I feared for other people's lives now. I sighed as I moved along with some of the crowd. It was now time for the main event, the actual party of the ceremony. People who didn't get a ticket for it were being led out as the people who had tickets, people who were also fairly dressed nice, we're heading down to the hall.

"Do you see all the decorations?" A mother had said to her young son as they walked by. Yet he wasn't paying much attention to her, as he was looking at me with wide eyes. I gave a small chuckle before waving at him, which caused him to jump for joy.

"Mommy! He looked at me! Drake actually did!" He said with a cheer as his mother smiled and led him down to the hall. I couldn't help but smile brighter. I remember being like that...it was almost heart warming to know I wasn't the only one like that. I looked around for my team, but it seemed they were already inside. I nodded to myself as I walked inside, quickly seeing all the many people who came here to spend more personal time with their heroes. I could tell that Zavala was the one to set up this party, everything being more formal here, heck, he got Cayde to put a tie on for the event.

I looked around, seeing Zula talking with some of her female fans, Raylin doing the same. They were probably conspiring on how to win my affection, or what not. Jarvis was trying to sweet talk some girls, and I think he might be failing with some of them. Kry and Myata were hanging out together, possibly waiting for the next blackmail. I smiled brighter as I looked around once more, my eyes landing on a group of girls that were whispering and pointing at me.

"Come on...go talk to him." Is all I could hear from the group. I tilted my head before catching a glimpse of a girl in the middle, with silver hair. She was possibly the girl they were teasing….and she was the girl from before...the girl that I gave a picture to as a way for making up for her sign. They then push her towards me with giggles, having her turn around to get mad at them.

"S-stop guys!" She says embarrassed. "You don't have to do this!" I didn't even see her face, but I knew it was blushing. She was in a blue dress, almost similar to Myata's shader, and it seemed to suit her well. I then smile and walk over next to her before speaking.

"Um...Penny, right?" I ask her name with a smile. Her eyes widened as I said her name, her friends gasping after I said it.

"He knows her name…" They say in awe. She turns to look at me, nervous and blushing all to hell.

"Y-you remembered my name?" She asked nervously. I smiled and nodded happily.

"Well of course, it's hard to forget." I say with a small chuckle. I then hear the girls going in awe at seeing that I knew her. She blushed brightly and smiled shyly.

"T-thank you Drake...I-I mean sir!" She started her words with an embarrassed tone, then quickly recovered to try and correct herself.

"Hey, it's just Drake." I say with a chuckle. She nodded quickly up at me before being surrounded by her squealing friends. I chuckled a bit nervously and let them talk for a bit before looking over at the dance floor. A song that I guess Cayde and Zavala had compromised on was playing, so...why not? Let's feed my fan base.

"Hey, do you girls want to go dance?" I ask with a chuckle, earning awe looks from them all, and some blushing from them, especially from Penny. They all nod quickly before running to the dance floor, Penny staying where she was nervously. I gave a smile to her as I held out my hand for her. "Come on, it'll be fun." She blushed deeply at my words and gently took my hand as I lead her after her friends. Now to be honest, in a scenario like this, if it was with Zula or Raylin, I'd be breaking down...but around these girls, I felt like I was feeding their teenage dreams...and I was ok with that….thinking that they looked up to me as either a hero or a celebrity crush...I was fine with that idea.

So, we danced for a bit, must have been a grand moment for the girls. And after a few songs, I said my goodbyes so I could head up to grab something from my room. Yet, as I came up into the courtyard, I felt my arm being grabbed.

"E-excuse me, Drake." Penny said as I turned to her, she was being real nervous this time. Before I could say anything, Ghost spoke into my head.

"Wait….don't you sense that too?" He asked quietly. I was slightly confused, then when i tried to sense what it was….I found it….an almost overwhelming feeling of light. "Could it actually be….her?" He said afterwards.

"Yea Penny?" I ask as I snap back to reality. She nodded, possibly to herself to help calm herself.

"I-I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am to you…" She said with a shy smile.

"Oh, well don't worry, it made me feel happy seeing you all having fun." I say with a polite smile. She then shakes her head as her blush got darker.

"N-not that….for what you've done for me...for the other day...and not only treating us...but helping me prove to them that you knew me." She said embarrassed. I smiled a bit at her….yet, I couldn't shake the feeling of her light. I slowly worked up the nerve to ask.

"Have you ever thought of being a guardian?" I ask with an eyebrow raised. She gasped quickly and looked down.

"I-I don't think I'm cut out for that….I don't think I could handle it." She said, seeming to be saddened by the thought. I took a small breath before putting my hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at me.

"You, a friend of mine….and me….we each have the gift….the gift of extreme amounts of light." I say with a serious, but gentle tone. Her eyes showed that she was mesmerized by my words. Flashbacks to what happened to me with Kabr play in my mind...I then pull back to reality.

"You can be a great guardian one day….I just know it." I say with a soft smile. At this point, her face was almost completely red.

"Y-you're serious?" She asked shyly, allowing me to nod.

"Here….open your hand." I say calmly, and once she did...I slowly set an item in her hand….the Spark of Light. She blushed deeper as she looked at it.

"Y-you're really giving me this?! Why?" She asked worried, possibly believing she was taking advantage or something.

"Because...I believe you can help save our worlds…" I say with a smile, then...as what Kabr said to me so long ago played in my mind...I repeated it to her. "Now, guardian? No...you may not have that status yet...but you'll be a great guardian one day.." I say with a bright smile as I turned to walk away, leaving her with wonder in her heart and hope in front of her.

I soon made my way back into the party, seeing how everyone was still having fun. I even saw Penny and her friends off in a corner, giggling and such. I step down on to the floor before hearing familiar voices.

"There's my boy!" I hear my dad say with pride in his voice. I cringe a bit as I feel one of his bear hugs.

"Dad, not now." I say with a slightly embarrassed tone.

"Oh, sorry son." He says with a chuckle before setting me down. My mother walking up behind him.

"You look great Drake…" She says with a smile. I chuckle a bit as my nod chuckled louder.

"Well of course, he's our son after all." He says quite proudly. However, once he said that, I could see Kry's head move up like a groundhog. He was currently playing what looked to be poker with Cayde and Myata. He looked around quickly before spotting me and my parents, a puzzled look on his face. I tilted my head in confusion at him as he walked over to us. I then remember I didn't introduce them. I guess with him walking over, I might as well. I then move around them, ready to introduce them, when Kry spoke up.

"Louis? Rachel?" He spoke in a stern, yet, cautious tone. My mom and dad flinch a bit at their names being called, then once they see Kry, they seemed to tense up and be less tense at the same time.

"Kry? Krytek-4?" They ask in unison, as they looked at him in a stunned state. My eyes widened a bit as they called each other by name….my thought process immediately started working, trying to figure this out….that's when Kry's story from the night before came to mind...wait...my parents are Guardians?!

The feeling around the three was that of uneasiness, like they didn't know the other would be alive this day.

"So...I'm happy to see you two are doing well…" Kry said to them with a strange tone. They both nodded slightly before attempting to smile.

"Glad to see you are doing fine as well Kry." "It also looks like you aren't hiding your power anymore." My dad and mom take turns in speaking, the tone of the conversation seeming to get brighter.

"So why are the two of you here anyway?" Kry asks, a smile forming on his face. "You both planning comebacks or something?" They both smile and chuckled a bit.

"No not at all, we are here for our son, Drake." My dad says as he pats my back. I gave a small chuckle before looking at Kry again, who had a deathly surprised look.

"Drake, you're their son?!" He asks with urgency. My dad looked at him for a moment before laughing, my mother joining him.

"Oh, you two already knew each other?" They both ask with happy grins, at least the mood is better. Kry looked at them with a strange smile, one of happiness, but also of confusion.

"I've known him since he became a guardian!" He says quickly. My dad looks at me and chuckles a bit at Kry's uneasiness.

"Looks like my son knows a friend when he sees one." He says with a smile, my mother nodding. Kry's smile only brightened after that. I then see Myata walk up, coming to Kry with her arm around him, and Kry doing the same to her.

"What's going on over here?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Oh, just having a reunion with some old friends." Kry said with a bright smile. Suddenly, my father started laughing.

"Oh Kry, I never knew you'd finally get lucky and get a girlfriend!" He said as his laughing grew slightly louder. He then realized who it was. "Wait, didn't I see you when my son brought you and the other girls over to the house?"

"I dunno, maybe, there WERE three of us, which one was I?" Myata says in a sarcastic tone.

My father thought for a moment before smiling. "Oh yea, you were the only one not to be clingy to my son." He chuckled slightly, my mother flinching a bit at the mention.

"Good thing too, almost got killed my own ki- er I mean friends. Raylin and Zula sometimes don't know how to take a joke...or not fall for a trick anyways" Myata grabbed gently to Kry's arm, she looked as if she was trying to blow off whatever she almost said.

I chuckled slightly as I listened to the four of them talk. "So, if I may ask, what was the reason that you and my old friend here are together?" My mother asks with a smile. There's the side that dad gave her. Kry even seemed a bit shy about sharing that info himself.

"Well I started out hating him, he was some stupid dork who was the absolute worst at flirting, but time went by and we got closer through missions and..parties.., and soon I felt like I had known him forever… When I see him, I feel a sense of deja' vu.. Which is odd...since I can't recall ever knowing him before now. Especially since I have yet to have a memory wipe as an Exo..I still wonder what it is that makes him feel familiar to me…" Myata turned her gaze to the ground before looking up again. "Sorry! I got too deep in thought again" she chuckled awkwardly.

I was touched, and I could sense my parents were the same, I couldn't say anything really, but Kry did for everyone...but mostly for himself.

"To be honest...that's the exact reason I tried going after you, Myata. When I first saw you, I had this sense of longing, like it was there for a millennium...so I went after you, and with each encounter...the more I wanted to fill that feeling." Kry says with a soft and happy voice, clearly showing no other intentions to that, other than voicing his thoughts. I never knew how these two blackmailing exos could ever be so sweet to one another.

"Well...that's pretty amazing...and I second that Kry sucks at flirting." My mom says with a laugh.

"I third that." My father says joining her laughter.

"Fourth." I say as I joined in.

"Screw you all." Kry says, trying to hold in a laugh.

"Nah, you've already screwed Jarvis over, I told you not to give him tips on flirting!" Myata laughed and looked over to Jarvis. We all couldn't help but look over to Jarvis, who, surprisingly, wasn't driving away as many girls as we'd think.

"Maybe he realized Kry's advice was terrible?" I suggest with a chuckle.

"No, I gave him a few tips myself.. Kry I'm sorry, but never make remarks about legendary pants ever again..please…" She giggled a bit.

"But what about the exotic one?!" He says with annoyance.

I chuckled a bit and shook my head. "Don't want to know, already know it's bad." My parents couldn't help but laugh.

"No, just no Kry." Myata gently squeezed Kry's hand to comfort him a bit, just to make sure he wasn't getting to hurt over this. He sighed and nodded.

"Then I guess you want me to tell Drake the advice I gave him sucks too…" He says with a look to the ground. I gulped a bit, remembering his advice last night.

"No, you give great moral advice, you're just bad at flirting." Myata smiled at Kry. "You're good at some things and bad at others, that's what makes us guardians. I mean, I bet you've never seen how bad I am with a hand cannon or side arm" Myata giggled a bit trying to cheer Kry up. "You're just, good at moral advice and bad at flirting, don't get too hurt over it. I mean it worked out in the end with me didn't it?" His face slowly grew into a smile.

"Yea...you're right, thanks Myata." He says as he hugged her. I could hear my parents go "aww" as he did, well, mostly my mother.

"No problem Kry.." She happily hugged Kry back.

I smiled happily at the scene before me, two of my friends together like this, my parents not being able to help themselves as they mimic them. I felt kinda left out, but I'm ok with it. I turned around to walk away before seeing Raylin and Zula standing there.

"We interrupting anything?" Zula asks with a smile, Raylin also waiting for an answer. I thought for a moment before shaking my head with a smile.

"Then could we...take turns dancing with you?" Raylin asks shyly. Now, I would have thought about it more, but now I felt like I owed them each a dance since I danced with Penny and her friends.

"Sure, I'd love to dance with you two." I say with an honest smile. I didn't want to worry, I wanted to think about the now, not worry about where all this may end up...I knew that wasn't healthy for me...heh…

I saw them both nod with a determined smile as they turned to each other. Raylin then pulled out a coin and flipped it up the air. I guess they had already decided on sides as the coin soon rested on the floor, and Raylin held in a jump for joy. Zula nodded as if to show she wasn't gonna argue with odds. Raylin then grabbed my hand and lead me to the dance floor, where it was one of those confusing songs. Was it a slow song? Or was it not? Who knows?

"Thanks Drake, for allowing us to dance with you." She said as she looked up at me after turning to me. I couldn't help but smile back at her with a nod.

"It's no problem, I do like you both…" I say calmly, but….did I ever tell either of them yet? The reason I ask is because Raylin seemed to gasp slightly as her face lit up red. "Y-you ok?"

She giggled slightly before nodding. "I'm just glad to hear that I guess…" She said as the song moved to its slow form, curse these final sequences! She slowly got closer before we began to dance with each other, staying closer than I'm used to...but...it kinda felt warming to me or something like that.

"This feels really nice….I like it." She says softly as she rested her head on my chest. I couldn't disagree, so that's a good step forward. We danced for almost the rest of the song before she raised her head again to look into my eyes with a smile. I couldn't help but return the smile before she asked a question.

"Um...Drake….can I ask you something?" She asked cautiously, as if not wanting me to instantly say no.

"Sure, I don't see any trouble with that…." I say with a slight smile, now curious. She shifted a bit before looking up at me again.

"When I kissed you that one night….was that your first kiss?" She asked hesitantly. I could already feel my face lighting up red.

"Um..yea, I believe so." I say nervously as I rubbed my neck. I was honest, and now that being brought to my attention had made me more shy about it. I turned to her to see she was looking away for a moment as well. Once she looked back up at me, she bit her lip softly, and well...if I'm not mistaken, that's a sign. Then, surprisingly not in a fast movement, but a slow one, Raylin leaned up to me before connecting our lips.

Now...I can't tell if my head feels like I won the lottery, or if I just got punched in the head by a Fallen Captain. My brain wanted to go at a million miles a second...but I reminded myself to not think too far...I didn't want to freak out, so I fought inside myself to do so. I began to focus back on reality...my first thoughts being that of how, surprising to me, how...warm this kiss made me feel, and...I just can't think of how to say it...but I felt like I was melting a bit. Then...as suddenly the kiss had happened...she parted our lips from each other with a bright blush.

"S-sorry Drake! I didn't mean to so that!" She says shyly, stuttering through it. I felt my face burning with a blush myself...I took a deep breath, ready to say something….but out of the corner of my eye...I saw both my parents, and Kry and Myata watching us…..shit. I shake their looks off before smiling at her.

"D-don't worry...it was….different for me." I say, struggling to find words for it. She blushed deeper and smiled at me as the song finally came to an end.

"Thank you...Drake.." She said shyly as she ran off to join the crowd. I guess I have to wait for Zula and or the next slow song. As I began to wait, I felt a hand grab my shoulder, I quickly turned to see Jarvis there with a grin.

"Congrats dude, I saw you locking lips." He said with a chuckle. I blushed a bit more, but I knew if he wasn't teasing me, then I knew Kry or Cayde would, so I decided to retaliate.

"I saw you weren't." I say with a small grin. He jumps a bit and then chuckles.

"Wow asshole...good to see you're doing decent with the girls. And it's really good to see that you aren't as awkward as before." He laughs a bit, letting me join his laugh. I chuckle softly as I rubbed my neck.

"You have no idea how much I'm struggling in my mind." I say with a nervous smile.

"Fair enough." He chuckles a bit as the sight of a nervous Zula entered our view. I gave her a small smile to ease her nervousness, but mine wasn't helped when Jarvis whispered to me. "I hear she chose the dress to wear specifically to dance with you." He says as he patted my shoulder, leaving me as Zula walked up to me.

"Ready?" She asked shyly. It was strange, seeing her act like this, instead of her forward personality...it made me look at her as more of a person...a girl to me. I gave a small nod as I extended my hand to her, in which she happily took it. Within moments, the next slow song, one that was obviously a slow song, had come on for us. The way me and Zula were dancing, it had that sense of formality, yet, it didn't feel...awkward this time to me.

"Hey...should we talk about something normal so we both aren't freaking out?" Zula suggests with a nervous smile, most likely saying that to help herself more. I chuckled softly and nod.

"Sure, what do you got in mind?" I ask with a smile. I watched her as she thought for. Single moment.

"Well, want to hear how competitive I get at crucible?" She asked more calmly this time, this showing it was a far more comfortable topic for her.

"Sure, sounds interesting."

"Well…" She began to speak as she visibly had gotten calmer, smiling happily. "...There was this one time where me, Myata, and Raylin had gone into some elimination matches….and for the most part, we did really good. Then, there was one match that came too close to the end. It was a tie game for the longest time, until it came down to the point that I was the only one not eliminated on our team. Now, that's stressful enough, but when each of the other enemies had their supers, that's just asking to lose. However…" She talked about this experience as if trying to get me to visualize the whole thing, then grinned slightly as she got to her however… "...I killed the three of them, each with one shot from my golden gun!" She says triumphantly. I couldn't help but chuckle at her story.

"Wow, sounds like you had your hands full." I say with a smile as our dancing got more comfortable for the both of us.

"But that's me, then there's you! I've never seen how Titans could truly be devastating in a match. I mean, I've seen that smash thing and the shield bubble….but the way you used that smash at the tower...you not only won the match for us...but obliterated a tower!" She says quite excitedly. She seemed far more comfortable than before, and I couldn't help but feel the same.

"Well, I guess I got lucky that time." I say with a chuckle before we both extended our chuckles to their stop, soon finding us looking at each other with soft smiles. I kept my composer quite well with this, considering how close me and her had gotten during our dancing. Then...there was that moment again….like I knew it was there this time. Before I knew it, she was leaning in to kiss me...and...maybe I leaned in too? I'm not sure….but what I am sure of, is that before our lips connected, the speakers squeaked loudly as Zavala turned on a mic as he wanted to say something. The noise was enough to cause most people, including me and Zula, to stop what we were doing to cover our ears.

A few minutes later….

After Zavala's attempt to speak on a broken speaker had failed, the party had returned to normal. I had turned to see Zula, but it seemed she was embarrassed once again, having walked away quickly. I chuckled a bit to myself, it was strangely...cute of her to be flustered by me...but I don't think I've got the guts to say that to her casually right now. She may hit me or something.

As I chuckled, next thing I knew...the party was close to ending..I remember my dad teasing me about the girls...my mom speaking her mind after seeing me kissing Raylin...jeez...and then just like that...it was over. I remember waving to Penny as she left with her friends...my parents when they left and such, saying goodnight to my team before entering my room...and soon falling asleep. Before waking up...I had dreams that gave me hope for many different things...our mission, our team...and my love life…


	27. The Gates of Time : Chapter 26

A bright morning for such an important day, I didn't know if it meant luck was on our side, or if the world was mourning us already. Me and the guys were loading up, getting our gear on, loading our guns full of ammo, and making sure we didn't forget anything. I got a letter at my door from Kry and Myata too…

Enclosed was two pictures...one was a group picture of the six of us, each of us having our name written down under us. A letter with it saying "No matter what, even if history forgets us...we will all always have each other." The second one was the picture of me, Raylin, and Zula, with another letter saying "These two, I don't think they could forget someone like you." And lower on the letter, in Kry's handwriting "They'll both be with you till the end of days, so use that wisely lady's man." I could only smile happily at that.

Soon after we finished checking our gear, the girls ran up to us, encouraged faces beaming in the light.

"You all ready?" Myata asked us with a smile. Each of us nodding as our ships came up to our level.

"Yep, it's the big day anyway." Kry said with a chuckle. Jarvis gave a small chuckle.

"Oh, I didn't know you two were getting married, congrats!" He said with a sarcastic tone. I looked over to see Kry shrug it off as a joke, but I bet if she could blush, Myata was.

"Yea, when were you gonna tell us?" Zula asks Myata with a grin, causing her to seem to become flustered. Oh man, we are gonna have fun with this.

"Awww, who knows, Myata may turn into momma Myata someday." Raylin said with a mischievous snicker. I could see her face was about to freak out by this teasing, that was actually affecting her.

"P-p-please… Stop that..." Myata spoke softly, this was honestly the most vulnerable Myata has been..while conscious that is.

"It's ok, you're already momma Myata anyway, you do consider Zula and Raylin family, right?" I ask with a grin, hearing the two snicker too.

"I-I...I do..b-but...I need a minute...to cool my systems down...don't want to...overheat…" Myata then turned and left to get some fresh air. Her metal plates that resembled her cheeks so hot they were actually red. Kry was shocked by her reaction, about to go after her.

"Wouldn't that make you papa Kry?" Jarvis asks with a grin.

"Just stop that." He says as he runs after Myata.

After a few minutes, we were finally on our way to our destination, Venus. The feeling around the six of us was strange. It felt as if anticipation, fear, curiosity, and pride had gotten together and had a child, that's what it felt like. I could hear the nervous loading of weapons and sighs over the mics...we were all worried. Who wouldn't be….I mean...well, I won't go over it all, just so I don't start doubting us.

We soon broke Venus' atmosphere, seeing the ruins below us as the large, metal door of the Vault came into view.

"Well...there it is." Kry said with an attempted upbeat tone. It seemed to give a small boost to us...but not enough. We quickly landed on the ground, standing shoulder to shoulder as we looked at the gate.

"Everyone know what to do?" I ask aloud. I had told them all I knew about the vault, even what Luxan had told me. They took it all well, and now nodded all at once.

"Then let's get this hell hole cleaned!" Kry says loudly as he begins our charge at the three opening plates of the vault door. We went in teams, Raylin and Myata towards the left, Jarvis and Kry to the center, and me and Zula to the right. It wasn't decided on who wanted to be with who, but on who could handle watching the others back. And this part was everyone getting accustomed to the way the vault may work with these things. For me and Zula, I remember we had to leap up edges to even get to our plate. At first, she seemed hesitant to step onto it, but seeing that I had already done so, she joined me.

The sounds of gunfire was ringing through the air, not a second was left without any. It wasn't a very memorable part, I must say. The vex seemed similar to what we usually fight, but maybe a bit buffed up I guess. I did see something that was a bit strange to me. A few minotaurs would spawn in and get ready to attack us...but their labels read "praetorian". But besides that…..and the growing conflux in the center of the area, everything seemed normal.

"Whoa...hey, you did something." Ghost says to me as our plates slowly shut off, and the conflux shot a beam of energy towards the gate. Me and Zula turned to it quickly, and before we knew it, we're already running towards the gate. And once we got there, the six of us were already together again.

"So...who takes the first step inside?" Jarvis asks as we watched the door open in a spectacular way.

"Well….who here wants to?" Raylin speaks with a slight fear in her voice. We then all looked around at a each other...before everyone's eyes were on me.

"Drake….will you do the honors?" Kry spoke with a joking like tone, but I knew he was serious.

"Alright…." I mutter as I approached the opened gate, seeing that the entrance inside was not guarded...at least not visibly. I slowly moved my foot over the gate...my foot soon making contact with the old and worn rock below it...dust being brushed into the air.

"You made it Drake….now….slay the demons here…" I hear Kabr's voice from deep in the Vault...like he was calling out to me only. I then turned back to my team, all of them on edge, but seeing that I stepped in had calmed them a bit.

"Come on guys….let's write history…" I say as I move my gun up like I was pumping my fist in the air. They all smiled and snickered before running up after me as I turned to run into the dreaded Vault of Glass. As we moved deeper into the cave system...we could hear the door close behind us.

"We got this shit...we can do this!" Kry says in an upbeat tone as he loads the first bullet into the chamber of his gun.

"Hell yea!" We all yell as we did the same. The sound echoing for a moment. After a few minutes though, we came to an open area where it looked like a forest off the cliff where we stood. And at the next doorway that led deeper...was a single chest.

"What the hell? Why is this here?" Zula asks as she approaches it with caution. We were all puzzled by this strange appearance of the seemingly normal chest.

"Maybe it was some old chest from another fire team?" Myata said with a confused tone. We were all skeptical as we approached it...slowly making our way closer to it. We all looked at one another before I kick the latch to open it. I gulped slightly as I looked in, my fearful look melting into a smile.

"It's ascendant material." I say with a relieved tone of voice. The others look confused at me before looking inside to. After hearing their relieved sighs, we reached in and grabbed our loot. We applied them where necessary and turned to move down the corridor. But with this reward...there was a setback...the corridor was now blocked.

"Well shit." Jarvis says plainly. We all sighed heavily as we began to look around for another path.

"There's gotta be some way forward." Raylin said loudly in frustration. We looked around more anxiously. I was beginning to think that this was some kind of trap...but then I saw the ghostly figure of a familiar armor...Kabr..the ghostly figure simply nodded to me as it began to climb down the ledge itself. At first, I thought that Kabr may have finally lost it...but after looking towards ever he was climbing...there was an entrance..

"Guys, down here!" I say to them, having them walk over before I use my lift to float straight into the spot. I could hear their collective gasps, but once they didn't hear anything about me being dead, they floated down with me, one by one. I made sure everyone made it by pulling them in.

"How did you find this?..." Jarvis asked with a curious tone. I simply shrugged, seeming that was enough to appease him. We began to make our way forward, moving ever so slowly to make sure we made it through. And once we were about to make it back to the main path again...I saw Myata stop in her tracks, looking at the ground for a strange reason.

"Myata, is everything alright?" I ask her with a tilted head. She slowly bent down and picked up something….a small, seemingly insignificant screw..and moved it to her head before gently applying it in her head. I walked over to her as the sound of small clicks were heard...and once she looked at me, I could swear her eyes now glow brighter than before.

"Yea...just found a missing piece of the past." She says with a small smile as she passed me. I couldn't help but smile back as we followed the rest of them out to the main route...right above the Templar's Well.

"So...who's first?" I ask as I looked at the platform below us, a conflux beginning to form below us.

"Screw it….let's fucking do this!" Jarvis says as he takes the first leap to the platform below.

"Let's fight this darkness…" "...And send it packing." Myata starts with Kry finishing the sentence before they leap down together.

"Today, I'm not a princess...i'll be a hero. See you after this Drake." Zula says with a small chuckle before leaping down after our allies.

"We used to just kick a ball around…" Raylin said with a small sigh.

"And now we are fighting the things that used to scare us…" I say with a chuckle. And without another word, we leap down as the combat began.

Once we had all set up on our end of the battlefield, firing back at the approaching Vex, I could hear the advice of Kabr once again.."Don't let them get to the conflux…."

"Guys, keep them away from the Conflux! That's what they are trying to do!" I yell out offer the gunfire, acquiring nods from my focused team.

Off in the distance...I could see a vex spawning in….but once it spawned...I knew it's dreadful face anywhere. The Templar had now appeared. Was it watching us? And as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared as quickly as it spawned, most likely to watch it's new prey.

As we fought the Vex back, I could see everyone giving it their all. Raylin was busting caps into goblins and hobgoblins with what seemed to be the flick of her wrists, the enemies being shot down quickly. Zula was taking on bigger fish to fry, firing round after round into the minotaurs with Thorn, each of them slowly being ripped to death. Jarvis was known to bring the void destruction, and he kept that reputation, firing rounds of cold hard Truth into the many groups unlucky enough to cross the "Void Bomber". Kry would not let any sniping hobgoblins have a break, firing Mida-Multi Tool into each of them before they got a shot off. Myata wouldn't let any even finish their teleportation when the did so to pass us, cutting them through and through with the knife on Monte Carlo. Then there was me...gunning down any left over for me to shoot, to be honest, it made me feel left out of the fun.

After a few minutes of gunfire, the conflux the slowly disappeared. I was the only one that seemed to see it though...so once it did, strange Harpies started to come out. I turned to be ready to fire at them….but I then saw Kabr's ghost again...waving me over to follow him.

"Guys, follow me!" I say quickly, each of them nodding without question as they move to follow, shooting when necessary. I follow the ghost until he leaps up into a hole in the wall. I tilted my head in confusion before following it, everyone following me with the same confusion. And once we enter, it was clear it was a safe spot, well...at least one the vex couldn't enter.

"What is this room?" Raylin asked as we all looked around.

"Funny you should ask…" A ghostly...yet familiar voice said. Everyone was confused, but me and Raylin were shocked now, as the ghost of Kabr seemed to appear in front of everyone. I could hear everyone gasp at his sudden appearance.

"Well well, it's a pleasure to meet you all finally." Kabr says with a small bow.

"K-Kabr?..." Kry says in a shocked mood, everyone else looked at him with shocked expressions of their own.

"In the flesh...well...more like in the spirit." He said with a casual chuckle...but it was interrupted by a sprinting girl.

"Dad!" Raylin yells as she runs over, giving the ghostly Kabr a hug, and surprisingly, she didn't pass through him, he quickly hugged back.

"Raylin….my daughter...I'm sorry." He says, his posture changing to that of worry and relief. The rest of us were silent as we let the family have their reunion. "I missed you so much Raylin….you've even grown to be quite the person." Kabr says with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"Dad...when you didn't come back…" She began to talk before Kabr shook his head.

"Don't worry...I'm sorry for leaving you...but you have people here with you...I don't have that luxury.." He said with a warm tone. Then suddenly, another voice spoke up.

"Wow, so you went here for your reunion, and you didn't tell me?" A younger, but still a ghostly voice had said. The rest of us were confused, but then Zula seemed to have a spark of memory as she looked around quickly.

"Drakis?!" She said in almost what sounded like desperation. Drakis….if I remember correctly….her dead brother. Kabr seemed to chuckle and nod.

"Alright alright….come on out." He said as another ghostly figure appeared. It was another Hunter...an awoken at that...black slick hair and glowing orange eyes….almost like Zula. Without another word, Zula ran to him, grabbing him in a hug.

"Whoa, hey there sis, glad to see you're ok." He said with a chuckle as he hugged his sister back. But Zula wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"How….how did you really die?" She asks, on the edge of tears. His expression then changes as the rest of us were silent once again.

"Well….that damned Templar gave me and those warlocks hell….but I told the Titans to escape so they could get the info back to the vanguard...that's pretty much it." He said as he thought of the past. But even though he says this casually, Zula's eyes widened.

"You...t-told them to leave you?" She asks in shock. I remember what she told me about the story….and how she thought they left him for dead…..was she wrong? Another moment passes before Zula returns to the hug.

"I'm sorry for not coming back Zula…" Drakis said with a sorrowful tone, before looking up at me. "But I see someone came to help you see more of the light…." He says with a smile.

Myata coughs a bit. "Excuse me?!"

"O-oh sorry." He says with a nervous chuckle.

"You both better be sorry! I've helped the both of them through life basically." Myata says with a serious tone to her. The two ghosts nodding with nervousness in their posture.

"Um, sorry to burst all your bubbles, but it looks like something is happening out there." Jarvis spoke up as he looked out the entrance. We all turn to the entrance and nod. Those two ghosts nodding as well.

"Alright...all we can do is wish you all hope." Kabr says with a sigh. Raylin slowly nodded and let go of him, Zula doing the same with her brother.

"Alright...let's do this…" I say as I wait for everyone to file out. Once they did, the two ghosts nod to me before they disappear once again….


	28. Templar and The Oracles : Chapter 27

Another two waves of confluxes emerged. The next with two and the last with three of them. It was fairly straightforward for us. Two to each on the last wave...and when they finally disappeared, we ended up back into the hole to stay safe. Then suddenly, when all went quiet outside our safe zone….we all acquired links to lost armor.

"Praedyth?..." Jarvis says with confusion in his voice. I could tell my hunter friends were confused as well, even I was….seeing my hero's armor, his chest piece...now stored away for me.

I didn't say anything about it however as I followed my team out of our rabbit hole. It was ominously quiet...no vex in sight. We slowly made our way to the center of the area once again before a strange, and loud sound filled our ears. The sound itself was like a gong being hit, but it got higher in pitch every time. And with each gong...a yellow glowing orb appeared in a different location….Oracles.

"What in the world are these?" Kry asks, trying to keep one of them in the sights of his gun. Once each one appeared for its moment, there was a few seconds before one appeared, however, this one stayed.

"Oracles…" Me and Jarvis said at the same time. Me and him took quick looks at each other before realizing we had no time to ask how we knew.

"Everyone, destroy the orbs!" I yell to my team, lifting my rifle and firing into the orb, causing it to explode in its own energy, making it disappear.

"Where they appeared is where they show up...make sure they are destroyed!" Jarvis yells afterward, leaping up a ledge to find anymore as they spawned in. Our four comrades deciding not to question it and run around as well to find the energy orbs.

Seven waves of this, it would've been easier if the hobgoblins weren't sniping us from the pillars around us. After the strange change in targets, the team slowly got used to it. Kry was even messing around, twirling in the air before blasting them with his rifle. It was a nice sight, we came ready for anything.

However, amongst the gunfire and energy spikes, the sounds of the Templar, watching us crept into our ears. It's menacing gaze was on us the whole time, pulsing waves of dark power.

It wasn't long till the oracles fell to pieces, the seven waves done. To my surprise, after the six of us regrouping to celebrate our victory, an object floated out of a ring in the center of the lower ground, a relic that seemed to stare back at us.

"I am not picking that up." Zula said in a distasteful tone against the relic shield.

"Yea, as much as we'd learn from it, it still wouldn't get me to hold it." Jarvis said with a half hearted chuckle. Hearing my team trying to dodge the question of picking up the relic, I sighed deeply.

"Fine, I'll pick it up." I mutter as I started my way down the stairs to grab it. I could hear them talk behind me, quietly hoping it wasn't a trap...but as I got closer, the voice of Kabr spoke to me again.

"Drake...for this one and only time...let us fight together...you, the sword...and I, the shield." Kabr said during a chuckles not my ear. I couldn't help but smile...was Kabr, or at least what's left of him, was he the shield? I came up to the shield, ready to grab it...till I could feel the heavy glare of the Templar...it felt close, like it was ready to pounce. It was waiting for me to pick it up…

I quickly motioned everyone to move to the right of me to the higher ground...waiting for them to be in safety of the low ceiling there...before using my arm to equip the shield...me with that, the blood curdling cry of the Templar screeched through the walls of the Vault.

"Drake, run!" Myata yells as the Templar materialized in front of me and up the stairs. My eyes widened under my helmet as I leaped up the edge with the sounds of canonfire behind me, even Raylin grabbed my arm, pulling me to rest of us, which were hiding behind cover as the Templar unleashed it's fury in void blasts.

"This guy just doesn't quit huh?!" Kry yells among the explosions of energy.

"That shield is too overpowered!" Jarvis yells in return….and just then, I remembered what Luxan said about the relic. The shield should be able to take down its shield...but how?

"Harpies!" Zula yelled as she shot one to pieces with Thorn. Behind us...no, all around us, harpies began to seep into the battlefield. Well placed shots were enough to rip them apart, even me bashing them with the shield would blow them to smithereens. I suddenly got a surge of light, almost like the feeling of knowing your super was ready.

"Fire the shield at it when ready…" Kabr said to me with enthusiasm. I couldn't help but match that with a smile.

"Everyone...I'm gonna use the shield to take down the barrier, so get ready to shoot." I say to everyone, each of them nodding with a long held laughter, hell, Jarvis was ready to nova bomb the Templar from the way he was sitting. When I confirmed they were ready, and the harpies around us were thinned out enough, I leaped up to my feet and held the shield in front of me, the center towards the damned robot. I thought of using my super normally, powering the shield with my own...and before I knew it, a ball of light formed in the center just before it was blasted at the Templar, striking it's shield...and bringing it down.

"Kill it!" Kry and Myata yell as each of them stood, firing whatever they could into the robotic beast. Gunfire was joined by an explosion of void power, and being followed by hard Truth rockets. While everyone opened fire on the hydra, the gongs of the Oracles blasted above the gunfire, however, in moments, Jarvis and me were on top of things, him shooting one down as I smash the shield against the other. We were a well oiled machine ourselves, making our mark on this vault. Then suddenly...the Templar teleported away.

"I'd say roughly half his health is obliterated." Kry said proudly as he reloaded his sniper. I could sense the smile everyone was sharing under their helmets. Thanks to the help from all our inside info, outside help...we came to finish this darkened vault.

Suddenly, once more, gunfire from the Templar from across the way rang out against our cover. Pelting the rock with void damage. Harpies spilled out into the battle once again, with quick kills by Zula and Raylin, Raylin speeding to each kill with Arc blade, and Zula covering her with Solar shots from behind. Without me getting any action in that fight, the shield took a bit longer to charge up.

Oracles spawned in, this time four of them. Three were finished quickly, but Kry ran to the fourth at the other end of the area, seeming to kill it just in time.

"Everyone ready?!" I yell out amongst the void blasts.

"Just do it dude!" Kry yells as he rejoins us, dodging the canons quickly. I nodded quickly before leaping into the air, on the same level in the air as the Templar itself.

For a moment….I saw images, the Templar firing into many different guardians over the years...Kabr's team….Drakis' team….and once I charged the shield to fire...I swear on my life….I could hear the cries of vengeance from those lost guardians…

Then, in a flash, I blasted the shield of the Templar down, and as I fell, gunfire rang out through the open air. As I watched the Templar take the damage, it seemed to be trying a last effort to get us, floating into the middle towards the team. It was suddenly stopped however as a rocket hit it, causing something to go wrong in it. It began to float up uncontrollably before its speed made it slam into the ceiling above.

I could hear everyone laugh a bit for our victory….then the sound of ground cracking above overtook those echoes. Without a word, I ran to my team as the Templar blew up, causing the ground to crack and fall down into the chamber, even the blue lava from the surface spilt into the chamber, filling the lower levels with the strange liquid...and the remains of the Templar and its minions.

"Did we do it?" Jarvis asks a bit concerned.

"I think we did…" Kry says as we all looked into the cold burning liquid.

"I overheard a bad story about a guardian and that stuff…" My ghost spoke to me.

"Well I'm not standing around here any longer then we should. Everyone good?" I say, turning to everyone. However, the one I didn't think would be happy about everything, actually stepped forward, letting a burst of his new fusion rifle ring out into the now opened hole above us, reaching the sky.

"I'm ready. These pretorians shall be foiled." Jarvis said quite proudly.


	29. Medusa's Steel Gaze : Chapter 28

Static soon filled our comms as we began to walk to the now opened doorway ahead, but voices quickly made themselves known.

"G-Guardians?! Can you hear me?" Cayde's voice screeched before becoming audible. We each paused as we heard our "favorite" vanguard speak to us.

"Yes yes, we can hear you!" Kry spoke out quickly as we turned to each other. After we responded, there was a large robotic sigh before cheering was heard from the comms. The six of us felt a strange wave of relief fall across our shoulders.

"So...you did it? You beat the Templar?" Luxan's voice came over the comms as well.

"Yes...the first of the machines was brought down…" I say with deep sigh. Luxan seemed to be at ease when he spoke again.

"Amazing...I'm starting to believe I shouldn't have doubted you six…" He said calmly, before quickly adding to it. "I do believe that I didn't tell you of the next enemies…."

"Wasn't it like gatekeepers or something?" Raylin asked with a bit of an annoyance. But Luxan was quick to terminate that annoyance.

"Gorgons….Vex harpies that have bathed in the power of the Vault...they are creatures you must worry about...they, in a glance, can will you out of existence." Luxan said with great urgency in his tone. The six of us fell silent at the mention….only Zavala's voice spoke out to eliminate the silence.

"Do not worry guardians, you all were able to eliminate the Templar, this should not be a problem." He spoke with his grand speech voice, in which seemed to give each of us a bit more hope.

"Oh, and before that crazy warlock left, he told me to tell you that you must avoid the Gorgons at all costs...and to only engage when extremely necessary." Cayde said casually. "Over and out guardians." He said before we were surrounded by radio silence once more.

"I'm happy for the support...I just really hate the fact we are getting info on these Gorgons now." Kry says with a loud robotic sigh. Myata does the same as she rested her weapon on her back. I could tell everyone felt that way actually...and another voice broke our irritated silence.

"You six did well….better than most guardians." Kabr said to us, as his ghostly figure walked up to us, Drakis following him. Zula happily returned to her brother with a hug. Raylin was obviously thinking of the same, and Kabr happily waved his daughter over.

"We couldn't have done it without the relic you left us…" I said with a small chuckle. I had realized earlier that the relic itself seemed to disappear, like it was gonna wait for us later in the vault.

"Nonsense….you six are the first to kill the Templar...no other guardian can claim that." Kabr said from his embrace of his daughter. "Not only that...but you freed all the souls the Templar had claimed in this dreaded vault."

"Good, they deserve to be free from torment…" Jarvis said with a proud tone….but we were all interrupted by a very loud Zula.

"Wait! Does that mean….?" A distraught Zula asked. Kabr turned to her to speak, but Drakis spoke first.

"Yes...I'm able to move on….my soul is no longer bound here…" He said with a sorrowful tone. The rest of us watched with a shy atmosphere for us, not wanting to intervene with the situation.

"B-but….please don't leave me again…I just found you...why leave again?! Please! At least follow us deeper into the vault!" Zula pleads with her brother, pulling her helmet off to face him truly, tears already falling down her face. I could feel Draksis' cringe, how could I not? His sister, crying in front of him after so long...pleading for him to stay….it..it was heartbreaking. Draksis took a deep breath as he lifted his ghostly hand to her face, trying to brush her tears away, but to no avail….he could only chuckle lowly.

"Damnit…I can't even do that anymore…" He said with a tiny smile. This earned a small, strained giggle from her. "It's...it's hard for me to come to terms with the way you grew up...even without me...you grew up to be a beautiful Hunter...mom and dad would've been proud." Draksis says softly. I could even see that glimmer in Zula's eyes...it was bright compared to our currency.

"You….really mean that?" She asked him, facing down.

"I truly mean it...besides...I did my part…" He says as he backed away from her. She looked up at him as he began to fade. "I got you into the light...and it gave you what you wanted…goodbye Zula….i'll be there with you.." He said as his ghostly figure rose up, before becoming a glimmer of light as it went up to the hole in the ceiling, like many others...

Zula dropped to her knees as her brother faded away. Whether she still wanted him back...or was happy he was free...I could not tell...but before her were some gauntlets...ones that Draksis had left behind. She picked them up...slowly equipping them on herself. Even I could tell what they were (with my Ghost's description)...the gauntlets...Ghost Angel.

With everyone standing still, letting Zula try to regrasp herself...I decided to walk over to her. I got next to her before kneeling down. I pulled off my helmet, ready to try and comfort her...but she was quick still, turning and pulling me close into a hug...allowing herself to cry into the shoulder of my armor. I was surprised at first, also everyone else, since they gasped at the sudden movement, but soon I hugged her back, trying to calm my close friend.

We waited for around an hour for her to calm down. Once she did, she picked herself back up and moved on. Now, I was trying to keep next to Zula to make sure she didn't have a breakdown at any point, so I didn't realize Kabr had been leading us down a different path than what was shown to us. We weaved through rock structures, jumped down incredible heights, and shuffled our way through small holes in the walls.

Then, as if by surprise, we fell into a larger chasm with what seemed to be a metal door to our left. One by one we landed, making sure the next did safely. Inside of the door, there was a single chest on the ground, and everyone but me and Kry made their way to it, with what I'm calling loot eyes shining towards it. I moved to join them, but Kry simply stopped me.

"Oh, you have something to say big guy?" I say with a small chuckle as I push him slightly. He only chuckled as he regained his balance.

"I've never told anyone that knows me about how I hid myself in the Iron Banner." He says as he shouldered his weapons.

"Yea you did, you hid under a code name right?" I say to him, remembering the big reveal. He shook his head a bit, taking his helmet off to show his face, just as everyone did so to rest around the chest. I did so as well.

"Yes, but I've never told you all what it was." He told me as he turned to look at everyone. "Saladin gave me the name, saying no one would suspect it was me….because it was from a pre golden age language...Der Drache." He says, his exo head seeming to reminisce on the past. I gave a small smile to hide the chuckle behind it.

"Yep, would've never have suspected." I say as I pat his back. I began to walk to the others as I got the reaction I wanted.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kry calls out to me before running over with me. The other four slowly got to their feet, Myata helping Zula up, looking like they had a good talk. We all nodded to one another before opening the chest together. We each acquired more materials from it, plus our respective class items. Jarvis got a new bond for his arm, our hunters receiving matching capes, and I got a mark, a hologram looking one at that.

It was then time to go deeper below, move further in...however, the darkness zone weighed heavy on our shoulders. The ghost of Kabr was no longer able to hold its form, him now being left to being a bodiless voice.

"We are here….the Gorgon's Labyrinth.." Kabr's voice spoke ominously to us. I clenched my fist a bit in response to this as a feeling of unease was left on us.

"If we have to avoid these things...then it's a sneaking mission, right?" Jarvis whispers into our comms.

"I'd believe so...but where exactly are we sneaking to?" Raylin says as she looked around the chasm. The sounds bladedancers make was then heard, Kry and Myata going invisible.

"We will scout around, try to stay hidden." Kry says into the comms before their footsteps got more distant. Of course, the rest of us sighed in annoyance, it was hard to tell who had the easier job. Thankfully, our ghosts marked the two sneaky exos on our h.u.d...wait...this must be how they were able to sneak away from the rest of us in the tower!

The rest of us then took cover, making sure we were not to be spotted. And after a minute or two of watching the marks of those two jumping around everywhere….the four of us saw our first Gorgon. A harpie, that was for sure, however on a more detailed glance, their forward guns were removed...and it's once metallic body now glowed and flowed as if it's being was a liquid. It's eye growing bright….the feeling of just seeing was enough to tell how much darkness it contained.

"I'd rather that..thing not see us." Zula said with distaste and nervousness.

"I second that…" Jarvis almost whimpered into the comm. I began to clench my fist, trying to keep my nerves in check. Kry and Myata were out there...in danger of being seen...I hoped they knew what they were doing. Then, a few moments later, as if to ease our fear, Myata spoke through the comms.

"Hey, we found a way forward." She says quietly, their marks through one of the entryways into the maze.

"How are we gonna get to you guys through these machines?" Raylin asks quickly.

"We watched their patrolling pattern, Kry is gonna signal you to a spot between those rocks when it's safe. I'll then be waiting at the next point you need to go, and so on." Myata told us as Kry's mark began to move in our direction.

"Alright...don't let us down guys…" I say into the comms as we waited for our signal. Moments later, Kry appeared in a small indent in the rocks, waving us over. With guns at the ready, we made our way over to him, making sure to draw as little attention as possible. We made it over with little trouble, everyone quickly turning to join a waving Myata atop a large rock formation.

"Nothing ventured...nothing gained." Kry spoke softly as me and him made our way to join them.

"What makes you say that?" I ask in a confused whisper.

"Nothing really….just always wanted to say something like that in a stressful situation." He says with a thumbs up. I couldn't help but chuckle as we came to the top of another rock.

"Alright….that indent in the wall over there….that's our exit." Myata says, pointing to a large hole in the wall.

I nodded happily, happy this sneaking was almost over...it just wasn't for me. Myata and Kry led the way to the hole, the rest of us following closely...however, when we dropped down...I guess the timing was off. When we came off the rock, a Gorgon was right there, having Raylin land right on it. The rest of us turned in horror as the metallic beast took a moment to realize what was happening.

"N-no…" I hear Raylin say as the beast opened up with a high pitch screeching sound. I felt the overwhelming power of the darkness right after as Raylin was tossed forward by the machine. I could barely hear anything...but I knew all our primal instincts told us one thing...to kill the Gorgon. In the lack of sound, gunfire made its way to it, rockets quickly following. I swear I could feel myself slipping away from reality itself...when…

"...Die you liquid machine!" I hear Jarvis' voice after the sound came back when the machine blew apart. Usually we would softly chuckle at him….but all we did was move into the hole in the wall without a sound, we knew the rest would be looking for us. The only thing to show for it….was the Gorgon's eye that I saw Jarvis pick up.


	30. The Glass Throne : Chapter 29

"I guess it's good you lightened the mood...but you didn't have to use your Fist Of Havoc across the damn canyon of darkness below us!" Raylin yelled at me as we moved against the wall of this large and opened area. I think I still here Kry and Jarvis laughing a bit behind us.

"Well blame Kry, he Blade danced his way over, so I said why not." I say with a small chuckle of my own. I heard Myata crack a chuckle, followed by Zula giving a similar laugh.

"Alright….you both just had us worried." Raylin says with a sigh, but I couldn't help but tell myself that hopefully she found it funny too. The mood of our team has gotten a bit better….but I did feel the feeling of anxiety, of something being off...Kabr...he was no longer showing us the way...have we even surpassed him and the other heroes?

We then slowly came to a flat area, a large door at the end of a hall...but we all knew where it led to.

"The infamous Glass Throne….we will be the six to see it and be alive…" Jarvis said ominously….but if that wasn't enough, the distant voice of Kabr spoke.

"I've only caught a glimpse of it….you six are the first to see it in its full darkness." He said, seemingly trying to raise our spirits. That only raised the stakes, uncharted areas...hopefully Kabr could still help in there. We all began to reload our weapons. I switched to my sniper, thinking it could end up being a large room...but...I couldn't think of it for long, when the sound of a hobgoblin's shot was heard...striking armor...striking Zula's helmet and breaking it apart on impact. That sight, of Zula hitting the ground, my veins boiled….I turned and aimed, firing a quick shot into the core of the metallic prick who deserved it, blowing it apart as revenge.

"I...I'm ok...it just broke my helmet." Zula said as she slowly got back to her feet. She slowly said off the broken shell, sighing as she was now exposed in this dark area. I sighed under my helmet, soon pulling it off to not let her feel left out.

"From what Luxan has told me...she won't be able to see any oracles if they show up." Jarvis says with a hint of remorse. I nodded to him before walking over to her, ready to ask if she had another helmet to carry on with….but then the echoing of vex was heard behind us, and as if on cue, the door ahead opened up to our final destination.

"You guys go...I'll hold off the reinforcements…" Zula said angrily. Everyone quickly turned to her, as if in shock of her words.

"Zula.." Myata spoke out, turning then walking towards Zula. She then continued to lay a hand on Zula's right shoulder. "I've known you for many years… you are one of the strongest women I know… so do me a favor…" Myata's tone grew more stern and serious with those few words. "..Kick their fucking asses." Myata then finished, giving off a tone of faith and proudness as she removed her hand from Zula's shoulder.

With that, Zula smiled brightly at Myata as the others smiled and nodded to her as well.

"Thank you all…" She said with a bright and proud smile. The others began to head into the room….but I didn't feel as easy to let a dear friend go so easily.

"No! I'm not letting you do this alone Zula!" I growled out angrily, stepping toward Zula, my tone serious beyond arguing. "I'm not gonna lose any of you guys…"

"And we aren't going to lose anyone." Myata stepped towards me. "But if you want anyone to live through this you have to trust them. You need to depend on us. If anyone wants to stay here with Zula, be my guest. But there are more dangerous things in this vault then those reinforcements. If we brought Zula in without her helmet to see the oracles, it would most definitely kill her. Zula made this decision on her own to stay behind and I trust her to do so. Like I said, if anyone wants to also stay back and help be our guest."

She had a point….but I wasn't able to respond...suddenly, Zula stepped towards me, grabbing me by my chestplate. She then began to move me, forcing my back to the opened door, surprising me with her sudden strength.

"Damnit...you dumb Titan." Zula spoke with a broken voice, her head down….with what looked like..tears beginning to drip down her face. Seeing this, I no longer felt that old fear that I had towards her….I felt pain, like I felt some pain from her, not from her hold.

"I..I'm sorry Zula...I just..don't want to lose another-" I attempted to speak, but was cut off with something no one would expect to have at the bottom of this dark vault, a deep...and what I believe to be a loving, kiss. I was a bit in shock, even hearing the others either gasp or move in surprise...but the feeling of...melting...yea, melting into this feeling washed over me. I could even feel myself returning the affection, for what the vault could make feel like an eternity….then it ended, with a small gap where we could breath was made...then Zula pushing me past the entry to the Glass Throne...allowing it to close between us. I was still stunned by her moment with me...but I quickly attempted to get up to stop the doors.

"Destroy the darkness here...my Titan." Zula spoke as the doors closed...stopping my view of her tearful, smiling face. My fists slammed against the stone door, in hopes of breaking it...but all it did was dent the stone a little. Hope was falling in me….until my rage took charge.

"I'll destroy it all…." I muttered as I stood up from my weak spot, turning to the others. "Let's finish this…"

"Couldn't had said it better myself, kiddo" Myata chuckled, giving an approving thumbs up, before reloading her gun.

I nodded back to her as I threw my helmet back on, this new reason to finish this now upon my shoulders. I cocked back my auto rifle as we made our way forward. It didn't really help that it seemed Kabr was hesitant to speak due to the event.

"My shield...I sense them through those two vex gates...take them back." He spoke quickly, and of multiple shields? We had no time to think it over, just roll with it. We pushed forward, our eyes being drawn to a hydra that seemed out of place. But without a second thought, we shot it down quickly. And, as if on cue, the gates on each side began to power on.

"Alright, find the area that keeps them on!" Raylin yells out, having Kry, Jarvis, and Myata stand near a pillar, where a plate was, most likely being the gate's power source. The gate finished opening for us, as me and Raylin shared a nod, then entered the gate right of the entrance.

"...Wait...we're on Venus' surface…." My ghost spoke to me in surprise. He wasn't lying...this new area we found ourselves in had similar characteristics to the plant filled planet...but I could feel the great amount of darkness that was laying upon this area as well.

I could tell that Raylin felt the darkness as well, the uneasiness was hard not to notice. We looked ahead, seeing a few vex ahead, and another hydra like the one from moments ago.

"Let's kill it." We said, funny enough, at the same time, as we charged ahead, laying waste to the machines. Without mercy, we blew apart the hydra and its followers, getting an indication from our ghosts to head up the stairs. We moved up as quick as we could, quickly spotting the shield from before.

"You grab this one, I'll get the next one." I yell to her as I turn to see if there was any stragglers...but I realized that my vision was becoming darkened, as if the weight of the darkness was visible.

"We need to hurry!" She says as she grabs my shoulder, pulling me along with her as we booked it for the portal. My eyesight got darker...I could only imagine the same for her as I felt us pass back into the vault.

"They made it! To the next one everyone!" Kry called out. I heard the footsteps...but I couldn't see them at this point...till Raylin used the shield….to cleanse this darkness from my eyes. I blinked in surprise as I looked up at her.

"I guess that works too…" she says with a chuckle before looking at me. "Come on ladies man, let's finish this for everyone's sake." She says as she patted my shoulder before running off to support Jarvis, who was protecting another conflux like the ones earlier. I couldn't help it, I smiled a bit as I rushed over to the second portal just as Myata and Kry opened it. I rushed inside, alone.

"Mars? Guess it makes sense….but right inside the vault, a portal straight to Mars?" Ghost spoke with curiosity. I sighed as I leaped up, bringing Gjallarhorn into my arms to fire it quickly into the hydra and its subordinates, killing them with ease. And a quick rush up the stairs right after, grabbing the shield and turning to leave before my vision leaves me fully again. I heard my team running to support the others as I emerged, using the shield to cleanse the darkness off myself.

"Hold them off longer!" Jarvis yelled as I came to join, swinging at vex in my path with the shield. This went on for minutes, fighting off the vex that appeared up the staircase and from the portals. We were almost surrounded till there was a moment of peace and quiet….the vex had stopped appearing for now, the disappearance of the conflux was proof of that…

Seeing this chance, I had lept over the chasm to the door, in hopes to breaking it down, but before I could release my fear...my anger, Myata, and Raylin were grabbing my arms, holding me back.

"Stop it! She will survive, just let her do this." Raylin said quickly, the tone in her voice telling me she would do the same as me if it was a more possible chance. I couldn't help but fall back from the door and nod with a sigh, calming myself….I turned to them, seeing Kry and Jarvis on the other end, seemingly uneasy to come over...but my heart dropped as I looked behind them, seeing vex spawning up the stairs once more, this time however…

"Watch out guys!" I yelled out, my lungs threatening to break by how loud I was...the two turned as they saw the massive Minotaur stand, its metallic plates glowing brightly as if time had cleansed it. It screeched louder than the Templar or the Gorgons….it's name, I dreaded this moment of remembering it, Atheon had spawned. There was no time for the two to react in time...well, Jarvis did react, pushing Kry off to the side….and taking the void blast dead in his chest, blasting my warlock friend onto the center platform...now lying almost motionless.


	31. Atheon's Epilogue: Chapter 30

I never thought I would hear Kry screech as loud as Atheon had, but his rage for his fallen brother was enough to fuel him, but he pushed back to us, his expression almost morphed to match his new rage.

"I want that beast's head!" Kry growled out. I nodded, my anger only growing with this event. And if that wasn't enough, I could see strange particles coming off my three remaining team members. Before I could say anything, they were ripped from me...away from reality.

"You son of a bitch!" I yell out angrily as I ran to cover. Without a thought he just….

"Calm down, I sense their light coming from the Venus portal." My ghost spoke quickly, seeing to that my anger calm slightly. I sighed in effort to do so before running to the pillar in its circle's center.

"There's something coming…..Harpies! Shoot them quickly." Ghost spoke, the only voice I heard for now as I unloaded into the metallic beasts without mercy, without hesitation. The gate was open, but I killed more than I thought. Suddenly, however, I got a sudden growth of energy, like I was charged farther than my normal super, just as my three friends emerged from the portal.

"Quickly, get to the center and shoot at it!" Raylin, the one holding the shield yelled out to me. I nodded as quick as I could, leaping down with them as Raylin used the shield to generate a dome shield, similar to that of mine. Kry pointed me over to help get Jarvis, who was barely breathing to get behind the only cover this lone platform was giving. I then stood to see Raylin stand there as Myata and Kry kept bringing their golden guns up, one after another, firing it into Atheon. I quickly joined in the gunfire, firing my sniper through into its heart. I fired two rockets into the beast before we had to fall back.

"Come on guys...just two more times." Kry spoke out, seemingly a bit exhausted from using his golden gun so much. The rest of us could only nod as we waited for our next opportunity, in which me, Kry and Myata were sent through, ending up in the Mars portal.

"We will kill oracles, take the shield Drake." Myata said as their gunfire had already ripped through the first red oracle. Without a word, I lept back to grab it, quickly running forward to slam it into the vex below us. Behind me, they did quick work with those balls as I quickly finished and joined them, cleansing the darkness from us when needed.

"I hope Raylin gets that portal up!" Kry yelled out as another oracle bursted. We were almost to the gate as it then sparked to life, allowing us to push through, and once we were, I leaped towards the center, hearing my friends' footsteps land behind me as I willed the shield to create the dome. Everyone fired their golden guns, even some heavy machine gun fire was heard ripping into Atheon's mechanisms.

"Once more….and this will end." Myata spoke as they fired, using their supers so much was taking a toll on them. Once our empowerment had ceased, we made it back to cover once more. The gunfire from him was keeping us pinned….till...he stopped, we could hear him move too. We moved to see what this vex demon was about to do...and we came to see him lifting his arm up, creating some sort of energy in his hand as more of those harpies emerged. Everyone turned to shoot at them...but I couldn't move, quickly noticing the same energy beginning to engulf me, he was grabbing me alone. I heard Raylin yell for me...but I was then ripped away from them.

"No!" I yelled out, hoping my team heard me...but I had fallen onto red sand...Mars? "Ghost? Ghost?!" I called out….nothing...not even my ghost was here with me. I held onto my sanity so I could look around...soon seeing the barrenness of the area...reminding me of the view from that gate in the tower...except for the vex shrine ahead….with a long dead corpse ahead of me….missing a chest plate. I moved closer to it...to confirm it….and knelt next to my long dead hero.

"Kabr…." I spoke quietly….in mourning for him.

"So...you found me….where I laid to rest, so long ago." Kabr spoke to me, seemingly doing the same as me for himself. "You fought with everything you got….I now know I made the best choice back then." He said, his ghostly hand on my shoulder.

"I guess you did….how do I go back?" I ask, noticing the shield...not a copy nor a clone….but the shield he must've built first.

"Take my shield….and my armor...I believe I will have a more fitting burial when you return home...and you will be known as far more than just a guardian….a hero….a legend." He said as his ghostly light seemingly joined my body. I chuckled softly as I took the shield and placed it on my wrist. I then stored his armor away, revealing the rest of the dusty skeleton.

"Thank you...Kabr…" I said as the crumbly skeleton turned to dust in front of me. I then moved up the dusty steps, trying to find a way back...when I heard a mechanical voice screech out to me.

"Humanoid….do you know why I brought you here?" The voice spoke out….telling me that that damned Vex god was speaking...Atheon.

"To show me what awaits me?" I spoke back, anger seeping into my voice.

"To tell you that you could rule time with me….I would be your conduit...and anything that existed shall be yours….I do realize your bond with that blue one… your fight shall never end….find peace within time itself." he said, trying to tempt me? Interesting….but I'd rather have anyone on my own terms.

"Atheon…." I said before igniting the shield on my wrist to its full length. "...I'm coming…." I said as I charged where the voice rang from….feeling the energy of a gate ahead….and as I passed through, I fell to the center platform of the Glass Throne.

To my left, Raylin stood atop a pillar, firing into the crowds of overwhelming Harpies, and to my right, Kry and Myata were getting outnumbered as well. My situation didn't get any better as Atheon began firing at me, forcing me to block the shots with my shield. It all looked bleak….but something snapped me back to reality….a weak hand grabbing my free arm from behind me. I turned to see my unmasked warlock friend.

"Drake...take my light…" He spoke with a wide smile, trying to hold himself up to speak.

"Jarvis….what do you mean?" I ask him, the blasts ahead of me still trying to break the shield.

"Finish this fight." He said as he grabbed my arm once more. This time I felt a rushing feeling, like an adrenaline rush….but far more powerful.

"We all stand with you.." Kabr spoke to me as the light in the air rushed into me…all these voices, every guardian still here, gave me their light. I felt empowered beyond my own comprehension….and I was gonna use it.

When Jarvis let go, I looked ahead to the beast, still firing at me. I then let my rage and power go at the same time. The shield began to rotate to accommodate the energy it was using, as a beam of light was released from its center, incinerating any shots in front of it and stunning Atheon with tremendous strength. I was given no time to think of this power before I moved on in my attack.

Once I stopped the beam, I quickly moved the shield to my back as I leaped forward, Arc energy sparking off me rapidly, allowing me to tackle the mechanical monster with Fist of Havok. Atheon hit the ground beneath him with a mighty crash as my hands moved on their own, grabbing, and ripping the inner workings out of its glowing chest.

"This...is your end you son of a bitch!" I yelled out to the area around me as I created a small, gaping hole within his chest. Using this, I generated a grenade and held it there, quickly forming a Ward of Dawn over it. This stuck it in there as the grenade began to power up. This...was his end.

I leaped off of Atheon, bringing the shield back into my hands one last time as Atheon quickly tried to get up to get ahold of me...but I did it. I heard every voice that joined me, the light itself pushing...all for one word…"Freedom."

I charged and fired the shield's blast, striking the orb I made in his chest...there was silence caused by the force of the explosion, Atheon's body disintegrated where he was...and forming an orb of his own, which caused the suction of what I could think of as a vacuum of space, pulling me towards it.

"No...no!" I yelled as I reached to grab anything….the last thing I see before I'm pulled in being my friends seeing me being sucked in. I saved th-

-/-Error-/-

-No recorder connected-

-Returning to audio and visual recording only-

-Resuming recording-

Footsteps rang out in the open room. All was quiet around the steps. Far doors were opening, revealing -/-from last recording-/- Zula, beaten, but victorious in her fight..only to see her friends in sorrow as they approached where their ally, their friend, Drake had disappeared. Raylin, after a few moments of tears in her eyes, finds the recorder.

-/-New recorder detected-/-

-Initializing li..-

-/-Shutdown in progress-/-

-saving battery….-

-/-Recorder -off-/-


	32. Epilogue : Became Legend

-/-Recorder powering on-/-

-battery level - 25%-

-record or listen?-

-/-record selected, linking to : five recording links-/-

-activating third person recording-

-begin recording-

"So….guess this is the end of our journey." Kry spoke with a more sorrowful tone. The five guardians stood, well most of them, holding the recorder together.

"This really sucks…" Jarvis spoke with a deep sigh, his crutch in hand, keeping his left leg off the ground. The other four nodded slowly.

"Shouldn't we at least give...our memory of him our last goodbyes?" Raylin asks, tears now threatening to leak from her eyes.

Myata, standing by Kry, she simply looked away, wordless, same with Zula, looking down as tears threatened her. Kry looked at the two before stepping forward.

"We need to...I don't think we'd get over it if we didn't." He spoke, slowly taking the recorder into his hands alone. "Thoughts then?" He suggests, receiving nods from the other four. After nodding back, his thoughts were let out.

"So...this is it pal...gotta say, really sucks not having you here to celebrate with. When your parents get here...fuck that's gonna destroy me." His thoughts echoed with a half-hearted chuckle. "I also have to thank you...I wouldn't have what I do if it weren't for you. Hell, because of you, I told Cayde where to put your memorial at. That spot where us three brothers met. Yea...I consider you a brother..so what? But all I'm saying...is that we are gonna miss you…" Kry finished, sighing out before handing it over to Jarvis.

"And I was hoping to be the hero...I know now that I can't just try to be a hero...I have to give myself to being a hero to others. I was able to thank the others for getting me to go down there...I just wish I could thank you for saving me." The voice of Jarvis was stung with sadness. "It was good to hear Kry thank me...but it's bittersweet. I'll make sure to tell your story…." Jarvis finished, wiping his nose with a sigh as he turned to give it to Raylin.

"It's hard to believe I lost you again…after so long...we found each other again...and here I am, crying for you again. I wish you were here…." Her inner voice was struggling to make itself heard. "I wish I could tell you how amazing you were at the end...and that I could've been the one to share your last kiss." Her voice said with a strained laugh before it was handed to Myata.

"...Kid…you're going to miss so much...you're… going to miss seeing all of us grow stronger. In honor of your name… so many matches, future missions, and I…." Myata went silent, looked around to the others and suddenly gained a serious face. "I'm a terrible liar… I know you're not dead, you're stronger than that, to just… die when your story has only just begun. I believe strongly that you're somewhere out there…. I've come down with a decision. If you're not back soon. I'm going to find you myself. Not for me, but for everyone including yourself. You have so much ahead of you, you were destined to be bigger than you already are, I'm going to make sure you get to live that life, with all of us. I've let go of people too easily in the past, and I'm not allowing you to become one of them, even if it gets me killed.." With that, Myata handed the recorder to Zula with a little force behind it.

Zula didn't think to the recorder for a good minute or so till it seemed the dam she made for her feelings began to give way.

"I should've been there...the others told me what was happening when you did it. If only I was there to help thin out the horde...then maybe we...could've saved you." Her whimpering voice broke here and there, her outward appearance trying to hold together. "I'm honored to be there to share that moment with you...but…" Tears began to fall from her eyes, almost like a small river. "Why….why did you have to leave?!" It took her another few minutes before she recollected herself. "I miss you...and...I need to get something off my chest. I...have a picture of us with Raylin cut out..and...well…" Her thoughts were disrupted by the sound of many footsteps running to the railing of the Tower courtyard.

"What's going on?" Kry asks with worry in his voice, in which snapped Zula's mind away from her thoughts. The five guardians quickly looked towards the Traveler, the spot of everyone's attention, seeing the terrifying sight of a Vex spawn cloud at the peak of the source of all light. The five guardians were about to bring up their weapons, expecting this to be a counter attack...but then something odd came out. A white and yellow painted guardian ship flew out, and by its look, it was barely staying in the air.

"It's coming to the tower!" Yelled a guardian as the ship approached. The head of Cayde-6 was seen for only a moment from the steps before heading down to bring the vaults for guardians down to allow the ship a landing point.

"Who….is that?" Zula asked, a strange string of hope in her heart. The ship seemed to just be able to slow down enough to put up the remains of its landing gear, landing in the courtyard as gently as it could. Once its engines turned off, the sound of metal creaking was heard, it was not taking off again for a while.

Guardians began to encircle the ship, at the ready, just as the cockpit was opened up manually. The five guardians watched the ship...but were not ready for what they saw.

Out stepped a Titan...purely white armor, except for the glowing red eye on the front of the helmet...unmistakably…..Kabr's armor. Raylin gasped a bit at this...but then everyone gasped as the tired Titan removed his helmet, revealing a dirty, scarred, and heavy breathing face.

"Guys...you have no idea...what the hell happened."


End file.
